Democratic Karen Buddhist Army

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA; Burmese: တိုးတက်သော ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ ကရင်အမျိုးသား တပ်ဖွဲ့) was an insurgent group of Buddhist soldiers and officers in Myanmar that split from the predominantly Christian led Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), one of the largest rebel factions in Myanmar. Shortly after splitting from the KNLA in December 1994, the DKBA signed a ceasefire agreement with the government of Myanmar in exchange for military and financial assistance; provided that it supported government offensives against the KNU (the political wing of the KNLA) and its allies.[1]

Not to be confused with DKBA-5.

Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
တိုးတက်သော ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ ကရင်အမျိုးသား တပ်ဖွဲ့
LeadersU Thuzana
Dates of operation1994 (1994)–2010 (2010)
Active regionsKayin State, Myanmar
IdeologyKaren nationalism
Theravāda Buddhism
Size6,000
Allies Union of Myanmar
OpponentsState opponents

Non-state opponents

Battles and warsInternal conflict in Myanmar

History

Formation

The DKBA was formed for a variety of reasons. A Buddhist monk named U Thuzana had started a campaign in 1992 of constructing pagodas in Karen State, including at the KNU headquarters of Manerplaw. As the KNU leadership would not grant permission for construction of the pagodas, claiming they would attract government air strikes, Thuzana began to encourage KNLA soldiers to desert the organisation. Following a couple skirmishes and failed negotiations in early December 1994, the DKBA announced its formation and its split from the KNU on 28 December 1994.[1]

2000s

Pado Mahn Shar, the secretary-general of the Karen National Union, was assassinated at his home in Mae Sot, Thailand, on 14 February 2008. Several analysts claim that the assassination was possibly carried out by soldiers of the DKBA, though this has never been confirmed.[2][3][4]

2010s
Main article: 2010–2012 Myanmar border clashes

In 2010, the informal alliance between the government and the DKBA began to deteriorate in the aftermath of the Burmese general elections in 2010, when the DKBA clashed violently with Tatmadaw forces. The violence caused a massive exodus of refugees across the border into Thailand, particularly through border crossings controlled by the DKBA. On 12 November, Al-Jazeera English reported that the DKBA had joined forces with the Karen National Liberation Army, a move believed to be in response to the threat of a government crackdown.[5]

Dissolution and creation of the DKBA-5

In 2010, DKBA soldiers split away from the organisation and renamed themselves the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army - Brigade 5 (DKBA-5), which was led by Bo Nat Khann Mway (Saw Lah Pwe). The newly formed group originally had five brigades under its control (hence its name), but currently commands only three.[6][7][8][9]

Resurgence

DKBA under the original name of Democratic Karen Buddhist Army reemerged under the command of Saw Kyaw Thet, a brigadier general who split away from DKBA-5. In early June 2021, a combined force of five armed groups; Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, PDF, KNU/KNLA Peace Council (KPC), Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) and a Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) splinter group clashed with Tatmadaw and Karen BGF in Phlu village, Karen state.[10] Brigadier General Saw Kyaw Thet, cstated that the five armed groups are cooperating throughout Karen state.[10]

References
  1. http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=112&regionSelect=7-Eastern_Asia# Archived 2 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Uppsala Conflict Encyclopedia, Myanmar (Burma)
  2. Radnofsky, Louise (14 February 2008). "Burmese rebel leader shot dead". London: www.guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  3. "Burmese rebel leader is shot dead". BBC News. 14 February 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  4. Radnofsky, Louise (14 February 2008). "Burmese rebel leader shot dead". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  5. "Myanmar rebel armies join forces". Al-Jazeera English. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  6. Noreen, Naw (7 November 2010). "DKBA renegades seize border town". Democratic Voice of Burma. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  7. Weng, Lawi (8 November 2010). "DKBA Troops Seize Three Pagodas Pass". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  8. Wade, Francis (3 August 2010). "KNU general-secretary says Saw La Bwe may come home". Danielpedersen.org. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  9. "Burma attack 'a warning of possible civil war'" (Press release). Burma Campaign UK. 8 November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  10. "Karen Rebel Leader Warns Myanmar Regime of More Fighting". The Irrawaddy. 3 June 2021. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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