This dyad belongs to the conflict Myanmar (Burma): Karen
Summary of conflict Myanmar (Burma): Karen
Fighting between the government and organizations representing the Karen ethnic minority has persisted since Burmese independence in 1948. During this long conflict the largest rebel group KNU (Karen National Union) has changed its demands from independence to propagating federalism and autonomy for ethnic minorities. Multiple splinter groups of the KNU has also been involved in the conflict, including DKBA and God’s Army. In late 2011, there was an increasing focus on talks between the government and the Karen rebels. The DKBA 5 agreed to a ceasefire on 6 November 2011 and on 12 January 2012 KNU agreed to a ceasefire with the government. Although occasional fatal clashes continue, the conflict was coded as terminated in 2013 due to low activity. DKBA 5 and KNU signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in October 2015.
The conflict between the Government of Myanmar and Karen National Unio (KNU) slightly de-escalated in intensity in 2025 compared to the previous year. While fighting remained ongoing across parts of Kayin and Mon states as well as Bago region, the number of large-scale clashes decreased, reflecting both the KNU’s consolidation of control in certain rural areas and the Myanmar military’s diversion of resources to other active conflict areas, particularly in central Myanmar and northern Shan state. Despite this relative decline in ground fighting, the conflict remained active, with continued reports of skirmishes, raids, and intermittent artillery exchanges. The Myanmar military also maintained the use of airstrikes in contested areas.
The Karen and Burmese independence
Historically, most of the territory of present-day Myanmar (Burma) has been dominated by different kingdoms in the Irrawaddy river delta, from Ava near Mandalay to Pegu just north of Rangoon. Apart from overtaking each other, these kingdoms also clashed with imperial China, the western kings of Arakan and the eastern kings of Siam. The Karen ethnic group was primarily settled in the hills east of the Burma plains, along the current border to Thailand. Largely excluded from the power politics at the time, the Karen was enslaved by the ethnic Mon kings of Pegu, the Burman kings, and the Siamese, in particular during times of warfare.
Following the first Anglo-Burman war 1824-1826, British India was expanded with coastal areas of Burma including Tenasserim Division bordering the kingdom of Siam. From there, missionaries arrived and established schools and converting Karen to Christianity. The second Anglo-Burman war 1852-53 expanded the British-controlled territory with the Irrawaddy delta and the area around Pegu. Soon thereafter, these areas experienced an economic boom following increased rice cultivation and export, leading to significant influx of Karen, Burman, and Indian population. Partly because of the education provided by missionaries, and partly because of the British preference for hill people as soldiers, ethnic Karen soon became prominently represented in the colonial administration and the British India Army. Following the third Anglo-Burman war 1885-1886, the so-called Karen hills became part of “Burma Proper” under British colonial administration. Some Karen sub-groups, however, such as the Karenni and the Pa-O, remained in territories administered as “Frontier Areas.”
Even though some ethnic minority activists participated in the early Burmese independence movement, it became increasingly Burman-nationalist during the 1930s. In particular the Karen and Kachins were targeted because of the prominence of these ethnicities in the British Army. Parts of the Burmese independence movement supported the Japanese invasion in Burma during the Second World War, as well as and participated in the ensuing occupation, where "independence" was granted 1943-1945. During these years the Burmese Independence/Defence Army targeted former British Imperial Army members and civilians with suspected British sympathies, especially Karen.
A White Paper was adopted after the war by the British government, charting a plan for Burma's independence protecting the rights of the hill people. As the independence movement in Burma gathered pace, the Karen sent a delegation to Britain and requested a separate independence. The 1947 Attlee-Aung San Agreement that outlined the decolonization process did not, however, include the promised provisions for the Karen ethnic minority. As a result, the KNU (Karen National Union) was formed a week later. Less than a month after independence, on 3 February 1948, the KNU chairman Ba U Gyi wrote to the Burmese government and demanded the formation of an independent Karen state. At the same time, Karen troops were important for protecting the government against left-wing rebels, and the army chief-of-staff Smith Dun was an ethnic Karen.
The first years of the conflict
Despite attempts by some senior Karen leaders to negotiate concessions from the government, tension grew throughout 1948 with occasional provocations from both sides. The KNU organized a militia, ostensibly to protect the Karen population from communal violence, while the government rapidly expanded the Union Military Police (UMP) as the conflicts over government and the territory of Arakan escalated. Among the newly recruited UMP were members of the People’s Volunteer Organisation (PVO) – which in turn consisted of many former World War II veterans that had supported the Japanese against the Karen. On Christmas Eve 1948, one such unit attacked and killed over 80 worshipping Karen in eight churches in Mergui district. Retaliatory attacks followed as communal violence erupted in many cities in the Irrawaddy delta. By mid-January, there are reports that this communal violence had been accompanied by fierce fighting between government and KNU forces.
The rebellion quickly spread and KNU forces took control over large parts of eastern and central Burma as Karen units of the army mutinied. A joint Karen-Kachin force captured Mandalay briefly while the KNU offensive was halted only in the outskirts of Rangoon. What followed was a few years of heavy fighting, during which the KNU also proclaimed the independent state of Kawloothei, and reorganized its’ armed and political wings. However, the government managed to force the KNU to retreat into the eastern hills and south into the delta. In September 1952, the government decided to establish a “Karen state” which consisted primarily of the areas that the KNU at the time was controlling. Karen leaders, rebels as well as political, were not impressed as the territory did not include a seaport and only incorporated less than a quarter of the total Karen population of Burma at the time.
The first splits in KNU-KNUP
Following successful government offensives, the KNU withdrew to strongholds in the Irrawaddy delta or towards the Eastern Hills (near the Thai border). In plans for a counteroffensive, the KNU leaders wanted to procure foreign support with arms and equipment, but this objective led to different developments in the two KNU areas.
In the delta region, the KNU camps were located in the vicinity of Communist Party of Burma (CPB) “white flag” forces, and the two insurgent groups soon started discussing cooperation. Already in December 1949 had CPB and KNU representatives established military coordination, and following government offensives in 1952, both groups retreated into the Pegu or Arakan hills, or further south into the delta. In November 1952, the CPB delegation met with Mahn Ba Zan, the KNU’s delta leader, where the two forces established the so called Zin-Zan agreement which concluded a ceasefire between the two, a committee to discuss joint problems, and a Joint Operations Committee for future military offensives. The influence of the CPB, and the expectation that foreign support would come from China, led to establishment of the Karen National United Party (KNUP) in 1953 as the main political body for the Karen forces.
At the same time, in the eastern hills, the most powerful military force was the Kuomintang (KMT) nationalist remnants from the Chinese civil war, with links to foreign support from the US. Thus, the KNU eastern hills leadership quickly established contacts with these forces and started planning for a joint offensive to capture the coastline in southwestern Burma, from where the KMT could receive US assistance to re-enter China. The offensive in 1953 failed, and the government redirected more forces towards the eastern KNU in 1954-55 who were pushed back into the hills.
The left-wing KNUP remained the dominant faction, and the governing body was renamed the Karen Revolutionary Council (KRC) in 1954, and the aims of the KNUP were expanded to include the setting up of a socialist state in 1956. However, shortly thereafter, the KNUP set up an “embassy” in Bangkok, Thailand, where they quickly became aware that KMT, Thai, and US representatives were concerned with the leftist turn of the Karen rebellion. Saw Hunter Tha Hmwe, the chairman of the KRC, then started arguing for a cancellation of the CPB cooperation, and an attempt to link up with the Thai and US anti-communist agenda. Following the KNUP congress of 1963, Saw Hunter resigned from the KNUP and entered negotiations with the government which ended with a peace agreement in early 1964. The KNUP remained in cooperation with the CPB.
Following the military coup in Burma in 1962 and the subsequent isolation policies of the Ne Win regime, the black market trade along the border to Thailand flourished, providing ample opportunities for the eastern hills KNUP to grow. Following a crackdown on opposition in Rangoon, the eastern hills area also received political exiles, Karen as well as Burman, with the ambition to overthrow the military junta. This combination led to the decision of Bo Mya, commander of the eastern area, to announce a withdrawal from the KNUP in January 1966. His new organization, Karen National Liberation Council (KNLC), was soon renamed the Karen National United Front (KNUF) before reverting to the name KNU. The group was anti-communist and deliberately pursued a policy of trying to secure support from Thailand and the US.
In 1967, Mahn Ba Zan and four other KNUP leaders resigned from KNUP and joined the new KNU, where Mahn Ba Zan became chairman during 1968-1976 with Bo Mya the chief of staff. The KNU and the KNUP largely remained on cordial relations with even occasional supporting troops being sent between the organizations. However, government offensives in central Burma forced the KNUP in 1975 to seek sanctuary in territory controlled by KNU. There, the remaining KNUP leaders decided to dismantle the organization and reunite as part of the KNU.
Rebel alliances
The KNU has been active in trying to forge alliances with other rebel groups throughout its history. Already before the conflict started was there cooperation between Karen and Mon paramilitary groups and the KNU lent support to Karenni, Pa-O and Kachin rebellions in 1949-1950.
Following the increased co-operation with the Communist Party of Burma-Red flag faction, in the 1950s, the KNUP contributed to the creation of the Democratic Nationalities United Front (DNUF) which in 1959 was expanded to become the National Democratic United Front (NDUF). Aside from KNUP and CPB, these alliances included rebels from the Karenni, Mon, Chin, and Pa-O ethnic minorities.
In 1960-63, the KNUP chairman Saw Hunter Tha Hmwe also actively participated in the Nationalities Liberation Alliance (NLA) with Kachin, Shan, and Karenni allies. This was the first of a series of alliances that explicitly excluded communist, or Burman, participants. In 1965, the KNUP joined Karenni, Kayan, Zomi (Chin), and Shan representatives into the United Nationalities Front (UNF). Following the split in KNUP, a new alliance was created in 1967 involving KNLC/KNU, the same members as in the UNF with the brief addition of Mon representatives. This alliance, the Nationalities United Front (NUF) was replaced by the Revolutionary Nationalities Alliance (RNA) in 1973 with the same members.
Following the reunification of KNU in 1975, the NDUF was dissolved while the RNA was transformed into the Federal National Democratic Front (FNDF) in 1975 with the addition of Arakan representatives. About a year later, on 10 May 1976, the FNDF was replaced by the National Democratic Front (NDF). The membership in NDF has fluctuated somewhat but it has included rebels from Arakan, Karenni, Lahu, Palaung, Pa-O, Shan, Mon, Kachin, Wa, and Chin ethnic groups.
In 2010, the NDF consist of the Karen National Union, Arakan Liberation Party, Chin National Front, Lahu Democratic Front, Palaung State Liberation Front, Pa-O People Liberation Organization, Wa National Organization, New Mon State Party, and Kayan New Land Party.
In 2010, KNU also established co-operation with Democratic Karen Buddhist Organization Brigade 5.
Following the crackdown on the democracy movement in 1988, the NDF members participated in the Democratic Alliance of Burma (DAB) together with Burman and Muslim opposition groups. In 1990, the DAB and NDF was joined by members of the National League for Democracy who had fled to the border areas after the elections. Together, these formed the Democratic Front of Burma (DFB), which later has been renamed twice (briefly the Anti-Military Dictatorship National Solidarity Committee), expanded, and now is the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB).
“Four cuts”, refugees, and border tension
Starting in 1968, the Burmese government has been using what it calls "the Four Cuts strategy" against opposition groups. This principle was an attempt to cut off recruiting, intelligence, logistics, and financial resources for the rebel groups. The main method used by the government has been forcibly relocating the civilian population from rebel-controlled territory. Human rights violations have been reported as a part of this process, and this has led to a continuous flow of refugees across the border into Thailand. The first Karen-specific refugee camps were established in Tak Province in 1984, after some controversy. The Thai government refused to accept these as refugees and instead invited international NGOs to care for them, setting a precedent that remains in practice. Since 1995, there have been several requests, and reportedly forceful attempts, from the government and the DKBA that the people in the refugee camps should return from Thailand.
The refugee camps in Thailand have only added to the international dimension of the conflict, as the battles increasingly have been close to the border. The KNU drew strength from its control over the cross border black market trade, while Thai authorities accepted the situation as KNU helped them, allegedly, by stopping support to the Thai rebel group CPT and drug smuggling from Burma. The Thai government has denied any outright support to KNU but the organization could move freely across the (poorly marked) border at will. Both the government and KNU have also accused each other of being involved in drug trafficking across the border. Incidents when the fighting has spilled over into Thailand and involved Thai border patrols have been recorded at several occasions and this increased since the split of DKBA from KNU in 1994.
Since the early 1990s, however, relations have improved between Thailand and the Myanmar (Burma) government, as Thai business ventures have been granted in the border areas. This has changed the dynamics in the conflict somewhat, as there have been incidents when government troops have been allowed to pass through Thai territory to attack KNU bases from the rear. There are also reports of increased harassment of the Thai police against Karen activists in Thailand, regardless of these activists’ connections with the rebel movement.
The second round of splits in KNU
Despite several successful attempts to forge military alliances with other groups, there remained tension between the groups competing for income from the cross border trade. During the 1980s, there were several minor incidents between KNU and Mon forces as the latter wanted to open more “trade gates” in its’ territory to increase revenue. In June-September 1988, these escalated into full scale battles between KNU and NMSP until it was decided that income from the border trade would be distributed differently in the future. This Karen-Mon conflict prevented the ethnic rebels to link up with the concurrent democracy uprising in Rangoon, but it also indicated an increasing discontent with the KNU leadership.
KNU had since its formation primarily been led by Christian Karen even though the majority of the Karen people, and most the troops, were Buddhist. For decades, this was not an issue, but rumors started to spread during the late 1980s about corruption in the leadership and that Buddhist solders were less likely to be promoted. In 1992, the Buddhist monk U Thuzana started a campaign according to which peace would be brought if pagodas were constructed all over Karen state. This included a pagoda overlooking the KNU headquarters at Manerplaw. The KNU leadership was reluctant to grant permission for the white-pained pagoda, claiming it would attract government air strikes, following which Thuzana started to encourage KNU troops to leave the organisation. Following skirmishes and failed negotiations in early December, the KNU split and a breakaway faction formed the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA) on 28 December 1994.
The DKBA signed a ceasefire with the government and helped the offensive to capture the KNU headquarters Manerplaw in early 1995. Since then, DKBA and KNU occasionally clashed in a non-state conflict, where the former often have received arms from the government until the DKBA in 2010 officially transformed into a Border Guard Force. The 5th brigade of DKBA rejected the government plan and resumed insurgency in 2010 under the rebel name DKBA 5.
After the fall of Manerplaw, another small faction broke off from KNU in early 1997 claiming that the KNU was no longer able to defend Karen villagers from army assaults. The group called itself God’s Army and was allegedly led by two 11-year old twins and instigated hit-and-run attacks on government forces during a three-year period. Following an attack on their camp in 2000, the remaining members of the group fled into Thailand and applied for political asylum.
In 2007, another breakaway faction split from the KNU and signed a ceasefire with the government under the name the Karen National Union-Peace Council (KNU-PC). This group claimed that the ceasefire is not surrender to the government but an attempt to pursue the Karen goals with peaceful means. In March 2009, an additional 150 KNU-members defected to KNU-PC, but there have also been reports of defectors from DKBA and KNU-PC rejoining the KNU forces.
Occasional negotiations
For a conflict that has lasted for more than six decades, there have been remarkably little negotiations between KNU and the government. There were some attempts to settle the conflict already in April 1949 but these were fruitless. After the ideological infighting in 1963, the KNUP chairman Saw Hunter Tha Hmwe approached the government and signed a peace agreement with the government in early 1964. He did so, however, using the name the Karen Revolutionary Council and he was only followed by some 1000 members leaving the KNUP.
The government has been offering ceasefire agreements with all insurgent groups since the military coup in 1988. The KNU has usually rejected suggestions of bilateral talks and instead called for an agreement involving the rebel umbrella organisation Democratic Alliance of Burma. After the government proclaimed a unilateral ceasefire in April 1992, negotiations begun and several rounds of talks were held until late 1994. With the emergence of DKBA, fighting intensified again and continued into the new millennium. Karen leaders accused the government of terrorizing the civilian population, while the government has branded the KNU as "terrorists."
After decreasing clashes in 2003, the KNU and the government announced a "gentleman's agreement" ceasefire on 10 December 2003. Following the government reshuffle in October 2004, further meetings were postponed and the government declared in 2006 that the "gentleman's agreement" was invalid.
KNU on the defensive
After the government had forced KNUP and CPB out from central Burma, it started to focus on capturing rebel bases in the border areas. The first offensive against the reunified KNU targeted the cross border trading posts controlled by KNU and the NMSP (Mon conflict) near the Three Pagodas Pass in 1977. From then on, the government launched yearly dry season offensives against KNU with heavy fighting reported in particular in 1983-84 which led to the first major exodus of refugees into Thailand.
During these first offensives, the government troops were unable to make any strategic gains but during the decade 1985-1995, the KNU were forced to abandon bases following each offensive. As several of the other members in the joint rebel alliance signed ceasefires with the government, the government was able to deploy more forces against the KNU. Furthermore, the split within the KNU provided them with key information about how to circumvent landmines and booby-traps protecting KNU bases. After the DKBA broke off from KNU, government troops were able to capture the headquarters of Manerplaw in early 1995, after which the KNU has been forced to rely on guerrilla tactics. While the government offensives are large-scale operation lasting for months, the KNU has focused on quick ambushes on government troops followed by quick retreats into the jungle, and occasional bomb attacks on infrastructure such as gas pipelines. The KNU usually deny involvement if there have been any civilian casualties.
As Bo Mya was leaving his role in the organization step-by-step in the early 2000s because of health reasons, the KNU became increasingly open for a negotiated settlement to the conflict as fighting decreased. Following a junta reshuffle in October 2004, the government withdrew from talks and launched comprehensive annual offensives every year until 2009. These were often coordinated with DKBA attacks on KNU, who largely avoided large-scale battles but continued with occasional hit-and-run attacks. When the 2008-2009 dry season offensive ended, the government did for the first time since the conflict started control a significant section of the border with Thailand.
DKBA joins the fighting
The KNU has persisted with hit-and-run attacks on government forces. On the day of the 2010 elections, DKBA Brigade 5, suddenly launched an attack on the border town of Myawaddy. The next day, a KNU and NMSP force attacked government bases near the border crossing at Three Pagoda Pass further south. This led to an escalation of conflict activity that lasted during the first half of 2011. During this fighting, the DKBA 5 and KNU often acted in close co-operation. Occasional clashes continued in late 2011, but the group agreed to a ceasefire in November. Fighting briefly flared up again in April 2013, when forces of the DKBA 5 clashed with government forces over territorial control of the Hat Gyi Dam Project.
Ceasefires in 2011-2012
During late 2011 and early 2012 major advances were made towards ending the Karen conflict. On 6 November 2011 the DKBA 5 (Kloh Htoo Baw, Brigade 5) signed a ceasefire agreement with the government that among other things consisted of declaring Kayin States inclusion in the Union of Myanmar, economic development of the Sukali region, agreement of all parties to combat drug trafficking and to continue discussions to establish a lasting peace.
In early 2012 the KNU followed suit by agreeing to a ceasefire with the government on 12 January. The KNU followed up on its ceasefire agreement by holding high level talks with the government and agreeing to establish set locations for garrisoning troops, a transparent ceasefire process as well as the establishment of liaison offices in border regions. As a result of the ceasefire agreement the Karen conflict did not reach 25 battle-related deaths in 2012.
Renewed clashes and the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, 2013-2015
Despite a ceasefire agreement with the government fighting briefly flared up in April 2013, when forces of the DKBA 5 clashed with government forces over territorial control of the Hat Gyi Dam Project, making the conflict active for 2013. Sporadic clashes continued in 2014 but the violence did not reach the level of 25 battle-related deaths.
During 2015, a small number of clashes took place between the KNU and the government and a larger number between one part of the DKBA 5 and the government. During the year, both groups were involved in negotiations concerning the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) which they both signed in October 2015, together with several other armed groups. The part of the DKBA 5 that had been involved in the majority of the clashes splintered from the DKBA 5 in July, acting independently but without a recognized incompatibility from that point.
