Karen National Liberation Army

Karen National Liberation Army
Karen National Liberation Army
	Flag of the Karen National Liberation Army
Leaders	General officer commanding Saw Johnny; Lieutenant General Saw Baw Kyaw Heh; Brigade 1 - Brigadier General Saw Soe Myit Htway; Brigade 2 - Brigadier General Saw Augustin; Brigade 3 - Brigadier General Saw Lay Traw; Brigade 4 - Brigadier General Saw ; Brigade 5 - Brigadier General Saw Gee Nwee; Brigade 6 - Brigadier General Saw Ner Dah Htoo; Brigade 7 - Brigadier General Saw Dee Kweh
Dates of operation	1949 – present
Headquarters	Lay Wah; Manerplaw (until 1995)
Active regions	Kayah State; Kayin State; Tanintharyi Region; Bago Region; Mon State; Myanmar-Thailand border
Ideology	Karen nationalism; Self-determination; Federalism
Part of	Karen National Union
Allies	4K Coalition Karenni Army; Karenni National People's Liberation Front; Karenni Nationalities Defence Force; Other Allies; Karen National Defence Organisation; All Burma Students' Democratic Front; Arakan Army; Bamar People's Liberation Army; DKBA-5; Kachin Independence Army; Mon National Liberation Army (Anti-Military Dictatorship); People's Defence Force; People's Revolution Alliance (Magway);
Opponents	State opponents Myanmar Tatmadaw; Border Guard Forces; Myanmar Police Force; Pyusawhti militias; ; Union of Myanmar (1988–2011); Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (1962–1988); Union of Burma (1949–1962); Non-state opponents Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (1994–2010); Mon National Liberation Army (2016–2019);
Battles and wars	Internal conflict in Myanmar Karen conflict Maw Pokay incident; ; War Insein Fall of Manerplaw; Battle of Kawmoora; 2010–2012 Myanmar border clashes; ; Myanmar civil war (2021–present) Battle of Loikaw (2021); Battle of Mese; ; Thaw Le Hta offensive Battle of Theemuhta; Mae Kha Ta offensive; Battle of Lay Kay Kaw; Battle of Kawkareik; ;

The Karen National Liberation Army (Burmese: ကရင်အမျိုးသား လွတ်မြောက်ရေးတပ်မတော်; abbreviated KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar (formerly Burma). The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1960s as part of the Karen conflict, which has been ongoing since 1949.

The KNLA was reported to have had a strength of approximately 10,000 in 1970; 20,000 in 1980' 3,000 in 2001 and 5,000 in 2006, 6,000 in 2012, and 7,000 in 2014. As of early 2021, the KNLA is estimated to have around 15,000 troops. The army is divided into seven brigades and a 'Special Force' reserved for special operations.

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