KPSN’s new briefing details the significant territorial gains made by the Karen National Liberation Army and their allies in southeast Burma in the past year. The KNLA have seized back half of the 138 military camps seized by the military junta since the February 2021 military coup, and have brought large sections of the Thai-Burma border back under Karen control for the first time in 40 years.
Escalated air and artillery attacks have failed to halt the KNLA’s military expansion, but have inflicted high civilian casualties and caused the number of internally displaced people to soar to over one million. Border based community based organisations have stepped up their relief efforts but remain constrained by lack of support from international donors, who continue to channel most aid to Yangon-based agencies despite their lack of access to areas outside the military’s control.