DKBA-5

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Wikipedia

Democratic Karen Benevolent Army
ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော် - တပ်မဟာ 5
LeadersSaw Mo Shay (2016–2021)[1][2]
Bo Nat Khann Mway (2010–2016)[3][4][5]
Dates of operation2010 (2010)–present
HeadquartersSonesee Myaing, Myawaddy Township, Myanmar
Active regionsKayin State
IdeologyKaren nationalism[6]
Theravada Buddhism[7]
Size3,000 [8][9]
Allies Arakan Army (Kayin State)

Karen National Union

Opponents Myanmar (sometimes)

Karen National Union

Warsthe internal conflict in Myanmar
Buddhist flag variant

The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (Burmese: ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော်; abbreviated DKBA), also known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - Brigade 5 (Burmese: ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော် - တပ်မဟာ 5; abbreviated DKBA-5) and the Klo Htoo Baw Battalion by the Burmese government, is a Karen Buddhist insurgent group in Myanmar. 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 in 2010 and is loosely affiliated with the Karen National Union. They have also worked with the Arakan Army.[10]

History

During the 2010 general election, the DKBA-5 attacked government troops and security forces in Myawaddy Township, Kayin State.[6] The group signed a ceasefire agreement with the government on 3 November 2011, though they did not agreed to disarming, unlike their DKBA predecessors in 2010.[7]

In 2016, a faction of the DKBA-5 led by Bo Bi, sometimes referred to as the "Phawdawmu DKBA", broke away to become a pro-Tatmadaw militia. In 2024 and 2025, the faction has been aiding junta forces in their Operation Aung Zeya offensive, helping to man checkpoints along the Asian Highway 1 and attacking KNLA forces north of Kawkareik.[11][12][13]

On World Children's Day 2020, DKBA-5 signed the first Myanmar Joint Action Plan with the United Nations to end recruitment of child soldiers.[14]

In April 2022, 300 DKBA-5 soldiers led by major Bo Salone defected to join the Karen National Defense Organisation after claiming the DKBA-5 was not doing enough to defend the Karen people after the 2021 Myanmar coup. They subsequently became Commando Battalion 1 of the KNDO.[15]

In 2025, the group handed over hundreds of foreigners, who had previously been forced to work in online scams, to authorities in Thailand.[16][17][18] In the same year, US authorities sanctioned the DKBA and 4 leaders for allegedly taking an active role in scam operations.[19] KNLA forces later raided a suspected scam compound on November 21; a shootout briefly occurred during the raid.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "DKBA appoints new Commander-in-Chief". Mizzima. 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "General Saw Mo Shay Appointed As DKBA's New Commander-in-Chief". Karen Times. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Naing, Saw Yan (14 March 2016). "Charismatic DKBA Leader Dies at 54". The Irrawaddy. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "DKBA Leader, Major General Saw Ler Pwe Succumbs To Cancer «  Karen News". karennews.org. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "DKBA leader Na Kham Mwe dies of cancer - The Nation". The Nation. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Myanmar Peace Monitor: Stakeholders - DKBA-5". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Myanmar rebel armies join forces". Al-Jazeera English. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "Myanmar Peace Monitor". Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Peace may prove elusive as divisions sap strength of karen national union | Bangkok Post: news". www.bangkokpost.com. Bangkok Post. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Myanmar Peace Monitor - Arakan Army (Karen Region)". Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Junta Dispatches First Conscripts to Kawkareik to Deploy for 'Operation Aung Zay Ya'". Karen News. 5 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Militia Group Joins Junta on Asia Highway Checkpoints". Karen Information Centre. 15 October 2024.
  13. ↑ "Myanmar Junta Pushes to Retake Asian Highway, Igniting Fierce Battles With KNU". The Irrawaddy. 10 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "On World Children's Day, a new hope for children in Myanmar: The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army signs a Joint Action Plan to End & Prevent the Recruitment and Use of Children". Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. 20 November 2020.
  15. ↑ "Around 300 Karen Troops Defect From Splinter Group to Fight Myanmar Regime". The Irrawaddy. 27 April 2022.
  16. ↑ Head, Jonathan (13 February 2025). "Hundreds of foreigners freed from Myanmar's scam centres". BBC News.
  17. ↑ Ingyin Naing (12 February 2025). "261 trafficking victims rescued from Myanmar scam center". Voice of America.
  18. ↑ "Over 250 People Rescued From Myanmar Scam Center, Released at Thai Border". Agence France-Presse. 13 February 2025.
  19. ↑ Treasury Sanctions Burma Armed Group and Companies Linked to Organized Crime Targeting Americans. United States Department of the Treasury. November 12, 2025.
  20. ↑ KNU Troops Stumble Upon Another Scam Center Run by Junta-Allied Militia. November 24, 2025. The Irrawaddy.