Karenni Nationalities Defence Force

Karenni Nationalities Defence Force
ကရင်နီအမျိုးသားများကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့
Founding leaderKhun Bedu[1]
Foundation31 May 2021 (2021-05-31)
Dates of operation31 May 2021 (2021-05-31) – present
CountryMyanmar
Active regionsKayah State
Shan State
Kayin State
Myanmar-Thailand border
IdeologyFederalism
Democracy
Minority rights
Size7000+ [2]
Allies
Opponents
Battles and wars


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]

  1. ^ ""We are Getting Stronger to Complete the Revolution": Karenni Resistance Leader". The Irrawaddy. 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  2. ^ "တရုတ်နယ်စပ်က ရိုင်ဖယ်များနှင့် အားမာန်ပြည့်လာသည့် တပ်ဖွဲ့သစ်များ" [Armed groups rejuvenated by rifles from Chinese borderlands]. Irrawaddy (in Burmese). 6 June 2023. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Intense clash in Mese, Karenni State". Democratic Voice of Burma (in Burmese). 20 June 2023. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  4. ^ "The 4K, the clash in Mese, and the military movement of Karenni State". People's Spring (in Burmese). 20 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  5. ^ Myanmar Military Now at War With Ethnic Pa-O Army And Allies in Southern Shan State. Brian Wei. January 26, 2024. The Irrawaddy Archived January 26, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Myanmar Resistance Claims Victory Over Junta Outpost". The Irrawaddy. 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  7. ^ "မြေပြင်စစ်ကူဝင်နိုင်သည့် လမ်းကြောင်းများကို မြောက်ပိုင်းမဟာမိတ် ထိန်းချုပ်". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  8. ^ J, Esther (10 November 2023). "After attacking military target in Karenni State, KNDF and KNPLF announce launch of 'Operation 1107'". Myanmar Now. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  9. ^ "An interview with the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF) information officer | Burma News International". bnionline.net. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  10. ^ "Thousands flee air strikes as fighting erupts in Myanmar". CNN. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  11. ^ "KNDF's Message On 2nd Anniversary Of Establishment". BNI - Myanmar Peace Monitor (in Burmese and English) (107): 2–3. 6 June 2023. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.