The Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF) is a

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

and Karenni

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

insurgent group active in

Kayah State Kayah State (, ), or Karenni State, is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on the east by Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, and on the south and west by Kayin State. It lies approximately b ...

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 ...

(Burma). It agreed to become a government-sponsored

border guard force Border Guard Forces (; abbreviated BGF) are subdivisions of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) consisting of former insurgent groups in Myanmar under the instruction of Regional Military Commands. The government announced its plan to create Bor ...

on 8 November 2009 although it remains active under the name of KNPLF. Starting from 13 June 2023, it has decided to change sides to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), Karenni Army (KA), Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), and People's Defense Force (PDF) and fight the military regime.

History

The KNPLF was formed in 1978, when a group of left-wing fighters split from the

Karenni Army The Karenni Army (; Abbreviation, abbreviated KA) is the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), and operates in eastern Kayah State (also known as Karenni State), Myanmar (Burma). On 7 March 2012, the government of Myanma ...

due to ideological differences. In 1983, under CPB's leadership, KNPLF alongside

Kayan New Land Party The Kayan New Land Party (, abbreviated: KNLP) is a political party in Myanmar. Its armed wing is Kayan New Land Army. History Early days of KNLP Background The Ne Win government, which was established in a coup in 1962, advocated Burmese Way ...

and Shan State National Liberation Organisation formed the central regional command. The group maintained close ties with the

Communist Party of Burma The Communist Party of Burma (CPB), also known as the Burma Communist Party (BCP), is an underground communist party in Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is the oldest existing political party in the country. Founded in 1939, the CPB initially fo ...

(CPB), receiving training, supplies, and armed support from the group until the latter's disarmament in 1989. In 1989, a ceasefire deal was negotiated between the

State Law and Order Restoration Council State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

(SLORC) and the KNPLF, which was finalised in 1994. The group had since helped government soldiers combat other armed insurgent groups, most notably the Karenni Army, and on 8 November 2009, the group agreed to transform into a "border guard force". The KNPLF has been accused of using

child soldiers Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...

and

landmines A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...

in the past, with one child soldier named Koo Reh at age 13 saying:

Recent events

Four KNPLF / BGF soldiers were murdered alongside at least 45 civilians during the Mo So massacre committed by the

Burmese military The Tatmadaw, also known as the Sit-Tat, is the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence (Myanmar), Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air For ...

on the Christmas Eve of 2021. KNPLF / BGF personnel tried to negotiate with soldiers from the Burmese army to stop them from burning civilians alive but were instead murdered by being shot in their heads. KNPLF has also received weapons from the powerful

United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army ( Parauk: , zh, s=佤邦联合军, t=佤邦聯合軍, p=Wǎbāng Liánhéjūn; , ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto'' ruling party of ...

(UWSA) post-

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

and allegedly been involved in resistance efforts against the Burmese military despite being reformed as a Border Guard Force. Chit Tun, a high ranking member of KNPLF was appointed as one of the two Deputy Ministers of Federal Union Affairs in the

National Unity Government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

(NUG), a parallel government formed by elected lawmakers and members of parliament ousted in the coup d'état. KNPLF announced its support for NUG and some low ranking KNPLF members fought alongside

Karenni Nationalities Defence Force The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF; ) is a pro-democracy armed organization currently fighting in the Myanmar civil war. It is a defence force for the local Karenni federal state formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Th ...

against the Burmese military. In June 2023, KNPLF openly defected to anti-junta forces and joined forces with

Karen National Liberation Army The Karen National Liberation Army (; abbreviated KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar (formerly Burma). The KNLA has been fighting the Burmes ...

, and People's Defence Force and began attacking Burmese military positions. The combined resistance forces seized junta outposts and took over Maese township in Eastern Kayah State.

References

{{Insurgent groups in Myanmar Ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar Military units and formations established in 2023 Communism in Myanmar Communist militant groups Military wings of socialist parties Political parties of minorities in Myanmar