Public records show that the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army is one of the major local ethnic armed organizations in Myanmar, now officially known as the Karen National Army (KNA). It was originally part of the Karen National Liberation Army but separated in 1994 and officially joined the Myanmar military as a border guard force in 2009.
However, over the past decade, tensions between the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and the Myanmar military government escalated, leading to its separation from the military in April 2024 and renaming itself as the Karen National Army.
Reports indicate that the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army is mainly active in the town of Payathonzu and surrounding areas in Karen State. Payathonzu is located in the border region of Myanmar, near the Three Pagodas Pass in Thailand's Kanchanaburi Province.
After Thailand cut off fuel and electricity supplies to some areas along the Thai-Myanmar border last week, local ethnic armed groups in Myanmar demanded that Chinese nationals operating illegal businesses in the area leave by the end of this month in exchange for Thailand restoring power supply.
In addition, some cyber fraud groups have dismissed over a hundred employees.
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army issued a statement saying that the Thai government's measures have caused economic losses to local residents. To minimize the impact on locals and prevent cyber fraud groups from taking root, it has ordered Chinese nationals operating restaurants, trade, casinos, and illegal online gambling in the area to leave by the end of February, otherwise legal actions will be pursued.
According to Thai media, some cyber fraud groups in Daqili have also dismissed over a hundred employees.
