General information
First Active Year: 1975
Current Name: KNUP
Current Name full English: Karen National United Party
Current Name full native language: n/a
Original Name: KNU
Original Name full English: Karen National Union
Original Name full native language: n/a
Actor Chronology
This section contains information about (if applicable) group splinters, name changes, and alliances according to the UCDP definitions of these concepts.
Name Change: From KNU to KNUP
On: 1953-09-01
Joined Actor: KNU (Karen National Union)
On: 1975-11-30
Conflict issues
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1975
Actor Active in Dyad(s):
Government of Myanmar (Burma) - KNUP
Group Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1975 Group Archive
Government of Myanmar (Burma) - KNUP
Comment on Name: Karen National United Party, before 1953 known as the Karen National Union. The armed wing was referred to as the Kawthoolei Peoples Liberation Army. The chairman of the party had since 1972 been Mahn Mya Maung.
The KNUP cooperated closesly with forces of the Communist Party of Burma (white flag), and was a member of the umbrella National Democratic United Front. By 1975, the NDUF only consisted of CPB, KNUP, and Shan State Nationalities Liberation Organisation.
Troop Size: 600
Comment on Troop Size: Former KNUP commanders afterwards reported that their forces had been decimated from around 600 (400 in the Pegu hills, and 200 in the Irrawaddy delta) to just over 100 during the final offensive from the government in November 1974- April 1975.
