The Kawthoolei Armed Forces (;

abbr. 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 perio ...

KAF) is an ethnic

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...

rebel alliance.

Origins

Proposed Merger

In October 2014, the

Democratic Karen Benevolent Army The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - Brigade 5 (; abbreviated 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 insurgent group in My ...

, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, the

Karen National Defence Organisation The Karen National Defence Organisation (; ; KNDO) is the older of two main military branches of the Karen National Union (KNU), the other being the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The KNDO fought against the government of Myanmar from 1 ...

, and the

Karen National Union The Karen National Union (; abbreviated KNU) is a political organisation with an armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), that claims to represent the Karen people of Myanmar. It operates in mountainous eastern Myanmar and has un ...

allegedly decided to unite into the KAF. However, many within the KNU and KNDO leadership swiftly denied that it agreed, claiming that those who joined the KAF made a "personal choice."

Tensions

After DKBA-5, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, and the KNLA signed the

Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), officially the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Ethnic Armed Organisations (), was a landmark ceasefire agreement between the governmen ...

a year later, a statement ostensibly written by the KAF denounced the NCA for solidifying military rule in Myanmar.Kawthoolei Armed Forces Disagrees about the NCA Signing
Burma Link. October 8, 2015.

2021 coup d'etat

After the 2021 coup, the KNU and DKBA verbally agreed to reunite into the KAF in August 2022 after the latter group's negotiations with the Tatmadaw fell apart.Ethnic Karen leaders come to historic agreement to reunite KNU, DKBA

Myanmar Now ''Myanmar Now'' () is a news agency based in Myanmar (Burma). ''Myanmar Now'' journalists publish bilingual Burmese and English articles on an eponymous online news portal. The agency provides free syndication throughout the country, with a dist ...

. August 30, 2022.

References

2014 establishments in Myanmar Karen history Ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar {{Myanmar-org-stub