The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) has expelled two of its leaders for allegedly deviating from the path of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and becoming involved with other revolutionary allied forces, including the Karen National Union (KNU), a DKBA official told IMNA.
According to a statement issued on March 11th, Major Saw Htoo Lwee and Captain Saw Karen Lay—commissioned officers from Battalion No. 915 under DKBA Military Command No. 1—were permanently dismissed from the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army.
DKBA Colonel Saw Hpa Black said the Central Executive Committee decided to expel the two officers because they joined the revolutionary allied forces along with around 50 subordinates.
“Our organization is continuing along the path set by the NCA. Because they became involved with those allied groups, the Central Executive Committee held a meeting and decided to expel them. In other words, they were no longer following orders from our side and were no longer under the command structure of the mother unit. It would not be appropriate to keep them any longer,” he said.
He added that the two officers may currently be participating as frontline fighters in areas south of Myawaddy, where clashes between the Myanmar military and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) have been intensifying.
“Since they were operating as a frontline unit, it’s possible that the other side nearby persuaded or recruited them. They may have joined for that reason. They also took weapons with them. As for the central leadership’s decision to expel them, there is nothing more to say,” he said.
The order has been distributed and communicated to all relevant departments within the organization, including the Commander-in-Chief, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, commanding officers, strategic commanders, and other departmental officials.
Amid the current political and armed conflict in Myanmar, the DKBA continues to stand under the framework of the NCA alongside the military junta. The group is also reportedly cooperating with the junta’s commission in operations against online scams in border areas.
As a group that still adheres to the NCA, the DKBA has frequently been involved in clashes with junta-backed militia groups and other ethnic armed organizations over issues such as arrests related to gambling activities and the expansion of military checkpoints in border regions.
