| Kayan National Army | |
| Native Name: | Burmese: ကယန်းအမျိုးသားတပ်မတော် |
| War: | Internal conflict in Myanmar |
| Active: | – present |
| Ideology: | Federalism Democracy Minority rights |
| Partof: | |
| Leaders: | Khun Saungdu[3] |
| Headquarters: | Pekon Township, Shan State |
| Area: | Demoso Township Loikaw Township |
| Allies: | State Allies
Non-state allies
|
| Opponents: |  Myanmar (SAC)
|
| Battles: | Internal conflict in Myanmar |
The Kayan National Army (my|ကယန်းအမျိုးသားတပ်မတော် ; abbr. KNA) is an armed ethnic Karenni paramilitary group. Formed from a merger of once-independent smaller guerrilla groups, the KNA serves as the armed wing of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council.
Led by a 14-person military committee of the KIEC, the KNA was established to unify smaller Karenni anti-junta forces established after the 2021 Myanmar coup d'etat. After overthrowing the State Administration Council junta, the KNA plans to serve as a transitional armed force for a future Karenni state that will encompass areas such as Mobye, Loikaw, Demoso, Pekon, and Pyinmana.[3] [4]
Some Karenni people criticized the formation of the KNA as multiple other Karenni anti-junta militias are still active. KNA leadership responded that they will cooperate with groups fighting against the military regime.[1] [2] U Aung San Myint (a party secretary of the Karenni Army's political wing, the Karenni National Progressive Party) also assured that the KNA's formation will not hamper anti-dictatorship efforts.[5]
While the KNA recognizes the authority of the National Unity Government of Myanmar, they are not part of the NUG MOD. Nonetheless, the KNA stated that they will not force Karenni Local PDFs to join them.[3]