The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - Brigade 5 (;

abbreviated An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing per ...

DKBA-5), also known as the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (; abbreviated DKBA) and the Klo Htoo Baw Battalion by the Burmese government, is a Karen

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

insurgent group in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. The group was led by Bo Nat Khann Mway, also known as "Saw Lah Pwe", until his death in 2016. The DKBA-5 split from the original

Democratic Karen Buddhist Army The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA; ) 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 Myanm ...

in 2010 and is loosely affiliated with the Karen National Union. They have also worked with the

Arakan Army The Arakan Army (; Abbreviation, abbreviated AA), sometimes referred to as the Arakha Army is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnic-List of insurgent groups in Myanmar, armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded in April 2009, the Ara ...

. During the 2010 general election, the DKBA-5 attacked government troops and security forces in Myawaddy Township,

Kayin State Kayin State (, ; ; , ), formerly known as Karen State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. The capital city is Hpa-An, also spelled Pa-An. The terrain of the state is mountainous; with the Dawna Range running along the ...

. The group signed a ceasefire agreement with the government on 3 November 2011, though they have not agreed to disarming, unlike their DKBA predecessors in 2010. On World Children's Day 2020, DKBA-5 signed the first Myanmar Joint Action Plan with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to end recruitment of child soldiers. In 2025, it handed over hundreds of foreigners, who had previously been forced to work in online scams, to authorities in Thailand.

References

Politics of Myanmar Karen history Buddhist paramilitary organizations Ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar Religious organizations established in 2010 2010 establishments in Myanmar {{Myanmar-org-stub