SUMMARY

The non-state conflict between the DKBA and the KNU stems from the reasons for the very formation of the former as a breakaway faction of the latter. The conflict is also closely connected to the intrastate conflict Myanmar(Burma): Karen, as the DKBA](/#actor/785)is allied with the government forces and has participated in joint offensives with the army against the KNU. Note, however, that all joint operations are coded as part of the intrastate conflict.

During the late 1980s, discontent began to spread among the rank-and-file troops of the KNU. As the KNU captured taxes on the illegal cross-border trade with Thailand, there were accusations of corruption and poor distribution of the revenue among the Karen population, as well as claims of religious oppression of Buddhists within the KNU. Even though two-thirds of the senior officers in the organization were Christian, some 80 percent of new recruits in the KNU were Buddhists, and some of these felt they were not promoted because of their religious affiliation. Following some skirmishes between the two factions in December 1994, the DKBA announced their collective resignation from the KNU and the formation of DKBA on 28 December 1994. On 3 January 1995, the KNU declared war on the DKBA who by then already had accepted military and financial assistance from the Myanmar government in return for participating in joint offensives on the KNU.

Fighting between the two groups has been characterized by on-and-off ambushes and clashes along the border between Myanmar and Thailand. Even though some clashes have been reported in most years, the relationship on the ground between DKBA and KNU cadres is largely less hostile most of the time.

The non-state conflict between DKBA and KNU is first included in UCDP data in 1996. In late February, more than 30 people had been killed in clashes between the two groups.