Kayah State, or Karenni State, is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on the east by Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, and on the south and west by Kayin State. It lies approximately between 18° 30′ and 19° 55′ north latitude and between 96° 50′ and 97° 50′ east longitude. The area is 11,670 km2 (4,510 sq mi). Its capital is Loikaw. The estimated population in the 2014 Myanmar Census was 286,738, the smallest among Myanmar's seven states. It is inhabited primarily by the Karenni ethnic group, also known as Red Karen or Kayah, a Sino-Tibetan people.
Loikaw is the capital of Kayah State, also known as Karenni State, in Myanmar. It is located in the Karen Hills area, near the State's northern tip, just above an embayment on the Pilu River. The inhabitants are mostly Kayah (Karenni). Myanmar's largest hydropower plant is located about 20 km (12 mi) east of Loikaw at Lawpita Falls.
The Karen National Liberation Army Burmese: ကရင်အမျိုးသား လွတ်မြောက်ရေး တပ်မတော်; abbreviated KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar. The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1949. The KNLA was reported to have had a strength of approximately 20,000 in 1980, 3,000 in 2001, 5,000 in 2006, 6,000 in 2012, and 7,000 in 2014. As of early 2021, the KNLA is estimated to have at least 27,000 troops. The army is divided into seven brigades and a 'Special Force' reserved for special operations.
The Karenni Army is the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), and operates in eastern Kayah State, Myanmar (Burma).
The Arakan Army is an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded on 10 April 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). It is currently led by commander in chief Major General Twan Mrat Naing and vice deputy commander Brigadier General Nyo Twan Awng. The Arakan Army states that the objective of its armed revolution is to restore the sovereignty of the Arakan people. In a December 2021 interview, Twan Mrat Naing claimed that the AA had grown to 30,000 troops.
The Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF) is a communist and Karenni nationalist insurgent group active in Kayah State, Myanmar (Burma). It agreed to become a government-sponsored border guard force on 8 November 2009 although it remains active under the name of KNPLF. Starting from 13 June 2023, it has decided to change sides to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), Karenni Army (KA), Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), and People's Defense Force (PDF) and fight the military regime.
The People's Defence Force is the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Myanmar. The armed wing was formed by the NUG from youths and pro-democracy activists on 5 May 2021 in response to the coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021 that put the military junta and their armed wing the Tatmadaw in power. The military junta designated it as a terrorist organisation on 8 May 2021. In October 2021, NUG's Ministry of Defence announced that it had formed a central committee to coordinate military operations across the country.
The Myanmar civil war, also called the Myanmar Spring Revolution and the People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests. As of January 2024, recent losses have meant the surrender of thousands of soldiers, including six generals and thousands who have surrendered without a fight. However, others warn that coup forces remain "formidable and well-equipped", with "external allies and economic resources".
The Karenni Nationalities Defence Force is an armed insurgent group in Myanmar formed in response to the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. The KNDF also includes other organizations, such as the KNPP, which an official regard as "good relations between the EAOs and the public" The KNDF has engaged in fighting with the junta, mainly with the 66th Light Infantry Division.
Events in the year 2022 in Myanmar.
The following is a timeline of major events during the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), following the 2021 military coup d'état and protests. It was also a renewed intensity in existing internal conflict in Myanmar.
This is the list of important events happened in Myanmar in 2023.
The 2021 Battle of Loikaw was an engagement between the Tatmadaw against ethnic Karenni militias and local PDF civilian guerrillas. The battle began on 21 May 2021, and was one of the first engagements of the current Myanmar Civil War in Kayah State.
The 2022 Battle of Loikaw was a battle for the city of Loikaw, in Myanmar's Kayah State, between January and July 2022. The State Administration Council's Tatmadaw forces attacked the city at the beginning of 2022, which was being held by the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force and local People's Defence Force groups. The fighting caused over 90,000 people in Loikaw Township to flee.
The Battle of Thantlang is a series of battles fought over the control of Thantlang town in Chin State, Myanmar between junta forces and local Chin rebels in 2021. The battle has left the town largely destroyed. In 2023, there continue to be clashes in Thantlang as the junta attempts to regain control of the township.
Clashes in Chin State are a series of ongoing violent clashes between the Myanmar military and local defense organizations in Chin State, Myanmar since the military coup in 2021. Following the coup, many protests occurred in the state against the new military junta. The military, however, responded harshly using violence to quell the protests, arresting citizens and torching homes. In 2022, the Chin National Army claimed that around 70% of the state was under the control of resistance forces.
The First Battle of Demoso began on May 21, 2021, between the forces of the State Administration Council junta and Karenni separatist groups allied with the anti-junta People's Defence Force (PDF) during the 2021 Myanmar civil war. The battle took place over the span of a few weeks in the city of Demoso and surrounding villages, eventually ending in a ceasefire between the two parties.
Operation 1027 is an ongoing military offensive conducted by the Three Brotherhood Alliance, a military coalition composed of three ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar: the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), allied with other rebel forces in the country, against the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's ruling military junta.
Operation 1107 is an ongoing joint military operation launched on 7 November 2023, by the Karenni National People's Liberation Front, Karenni Army, and Karenni Nationalities Defence Force against the Tatmadaw military junta in Myanmar, during the Myanmar civil war. It was launched in support of the concurrent Operation 1027 by other rebel forces in Myanmar.
Operation 1111 is an ongoing military operation launched by Karenni Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) including the Karenni Army (KA), Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) and Karenni National People's Liberation Front (KNPLF). The operation was launched concurrently with Operation 1107, with the goal to capture Kayah State's capital city of Loikaw.
State Administration Council 
Karenni Nationalities Defence Force [1] 
Karenni National Progressive Party [1] 
People's Defence Force [2] 
Karenni National People's Liberation Front 
Karen National Liberation Army [4] 
