KNU prepared for major offensive by Burma army

Posted on October 31, 2008
Filed Under Burma news |

The Burmese junta is planning a major offensive against the Karen National Union (KNU) reports the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). Quoting a source close to the military, DVB says a leaked report from infantry headquarters stresses the need to collect information on KNU positions, resources and capabilities and to monitor the movements of the Thai army along the border.
They claim heavy weapon stations in the area have been reinforced and provided with extra shells.
However, a KNU spokesman says the offensive is part of an ongoing strategy and they are prepared for it. He said, there had only been low-level clashes so far, but added that the KNU is preparing for a larger scale attack.
According to the DVB, the offensive is aimed at preventing the KNU from supporting other ethnic groups that have signed ceasefire agreements with the junta. The junta is looking to disarm these groups, but many are unwilling to give up their weapons just yet. According to Thailand based military analyst, Htay Aung, the junta believes the KNU and other groups that have refused to sign ceasefire agreements are influencing these groups.
In recent weeks, tensions have increased along the border between Karen State and Thailand, as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a pro-junta militia that split from the KNU has increased its presence in the area (see: DKBA preparing to attack Karen bases). They have even launched attacks against villages in Thailand, where they believed there was Karen who were supporting the KNU.
The coming of the dry season has traditionally meant increased activity by the Burma Army in ethnic controlled areas. In Karen State, where the junta has a policy of targeting the civilian population in order to weaken support for the KNU, this has meant more villages being destroyed. And more villagers being forced either into hiding or across the border into Thailand as refugees.
The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the KNU’s military wing has been reduced to just to a few thousand soldiers, and mostly engages in guerrilla tactics. In contrast, the Burma Army is the largest and best-funded army in Southeast Asia.
Burma spends over half of its GDP on the military and only a tiny fraction on health and education. Most of its military hardware comes from China, which supports the military regime in order to ensure it has access to Burma’s reserves of oil and natural gas.