Karenni Nationalities Defence Force Explained

Karenni Nationalities Defence Force
Native Name:ကရင်နီအမျိုးသားများကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့
Native Name Lang:my
Founding Leader:Khun Bedu[1]
Dates: – present
Country:Myanmar
Area:Kayah State
Shan State
Kayin State
Myanmar-Thailand border
Ideology:Federalism
Democracy
Minority rights
Size:7000+ [2]
Allies:4K Coalition[3] [4]

Other allies

Opponents:State opponents:

Non-state opponents:

Battles:

The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF; Burmese: ကရင်နီအမျိုးသားများကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့,) is an armed insurgent group in Myanmar formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The KNDF also includes other organizations and Operate under the commander-in-chief of Karenni Army (KA) armed wing of KNPP, which an official regard as "good relations between the EAOs and the public"[9] The KNDF has engaged in fighting with the junta, mainly with the 66th Light Infantry Division.[10]

On 6 June 2023, the KNDF issued a report on two-year anniversary of their founding. They stated that they have established 22 battalions and six military strategies. They also claimed that the junta now has control over Loikaw and other urban wards only, and most areas in the state are under the control of the resistance groups.[11]

Objective

In an interview, the spokesperson of the KNDF told media groups that the KNDF is a fusion of all Karenni State's dispersed youth forces. Uniting them to more effectively fight the junta. It was also stated that they have a shortage of weapons and ammunition.[9]

The objective is the same as that of other resistance groups in Myanmar; to overthrow the military junta. It is also to ensure the unity of the people in Karenni State, encourage collaboration and pay special attention to the Karenni National Progressive Party's position.[9]

Defence policy

The KNDF, which was founded alongside the regional PDFs and other militias, follows the NUG and CRPH's defence policy, according to the KNDF's spokesperson.

The NUG's Ministry of Defence published a seven-point defense policy with the goal of ensuring that the defense industry is democratically controlled and operates according to a federal system.[12]

The policy encompasses leadership, defence policy formulation and execution, legislative and judicial checks and balances on the military sector, defence administration, the enforcement of internationally recognized laws and ethics, title and duty designation, financial management, and resource sharing.

According to the KNDF's spokesman, the KNDF, which was founded in accordance with the NUG's defense plans, has three Karenni State-based PDFs, two Shan State-based PDFs, and several EAOs.[13]

Conflicts

The KNDF has been involved in the Myanmar civil war since May 2021. In 2022, they engaged in 341 clashes with the regime killing 797 junta troops and suffering 65 losses.[14]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: “We are Getting Stronger to Complete the Revolution”: Karenni Resistance Leader. 15 June 2022. The Irrawaddy. 29 June 2023. 29 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230729100533/https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/interview/we-are-getting-stronger-to-complete-the-revolution-karenni-resistance-leader.html. live.
  2. News: တရုတ်နယ်စပ်က ရိုင်ဖယ်များနှင့် အားမာန်ပြည့်လာသည့် တပ်ဖွဲ့သစ်များ . Armed groups rejuvenated by rifles from Chinese borderlands . my . Irrawaddy . 6 June 2023 . 30 July 2023 . 27 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230627165748/https://burma.irrawaddy.com/article/2023/06/06/260621.html?fbclid=IwAR3PBMXXmwqahqwH5QDCDrA23FZriiyUL2YXuOe7JYxLL-mzdraN8TobmAY . live .
  3. News: Intense clash in Mese, Karenni State. 20 June 2023. Democratic Voice of Burma. Burmese. 30 July 2023. 25 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230625083220/https://burmese.dvb.no/archives/599992. live.
  4. News: The 4K, the clash in Mese, and the military movement of Karenni State. 20 June 2023. People's Spring. Burmese. 30 July 2023. 2 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230702091642/https://www.ludunwayoo.com/feature-mm/2023/06/20/79886/. live.
  5. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-military-now-at-war-with-ethnic-pa-o-army-and-allies-in-southern-shan-state.html Myanmar Military Now at War With Ethnic Pa-O Army And Allies in Southern Shan State
  6. News: Myanmar Resistance Claims Victory Over Junta Outpost. 22 June 2022. The Irrawaddy. 13 May 2022. 16 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220616061740/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-resistance-claims-victory-over-junta-outpost.html. live.
  7. News: မြေပြင်စစ်ကူဝင်နိုင်သည့် လမ်းကြောင်းများကို မြောက်ပိုင်းမဟာမိတ် ထိန်းချုပ် . November 3, 2023 . The Irrawaddy.
  8. News: J . Esther . After attacking military target in Karenni State, KNDF and KNPLF announce launch of ‘Operation 1107’ . 10 November 2023 . Myanmar Now . 10 November 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231110124651/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/after-attacking-military-target-in-karenni-state-kndf-and-knplf-announce-launch-of-operation-1107/. November 10, 2023.
  9. Web site: An interview with the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) information officer | Burma News International. bnionline.net. 2022-03-25. 2022-03-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20220325121929/https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/interview-karenni-nationalities-defense-force-kndf-information-officer. live.
  10. Web site: Thousands flee air strikes as fighting erupts in Myanmar. CNN. 25 February 2022 . 2022-03-25. 2022-03-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20220325072748/https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/asia/myanmar-air-strikes-intl-hnk/index.html. live.
  11. 6 June 2023 . KNDF's Message On 2nd Anniversary Of Establishment . BNI - Myanmar Peace Monitor . Burmese, English . 107 . 2–3 . 13 June 2023 . 10 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230610003631/https://mmpeacemonitor.org/319962/kndfs-message-on-2nd-anniversary-of-establishment-issue-107/ . live .
  12. Web site: Defence Policy – ကာကွယ်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန. mod.nugmyanmar.org. 2022-03-25. 2021-11-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20211102120631/https://mod.nugmyanmar.org/en/mod-defence-policy/. live.
  13. Web site: Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) will carry out NUG's defense policies | Burma News International. bnionline.net. 2022-03-25. 2021-07-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20210706131340/https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/karenni-nationalities-defense-force-kndf-will-carry-out-nugs-defense-policies. live.
  14. News: Kayah Resistance: 797 Myanmar Junta Troops Killed Last Year . 7 January 2023 . en . Irrawaddy . 9 January 2023 . 9 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230109144027/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/kayah-resistance-797-myanmar-junta-troops-killed-last-year.html . live .