Around 80% of the state is now liberated and under the control of the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force (KNDF), which has established civilian governmental structures through the Interim Executive Council (IEC). Led by Chairman Khun Bedu, a former seminarian, the construction of formal structures for a new civilian government is underway as part of a federal democracy. However, efforts to restore normalcy to the lives of the civilian population are being hindered by several challenges, including revenue shortages, U.S. aid cuts, lack of international recognition, and the persistent threat of government airstrikes.
These strikes, which frequently target random civilian areas, often hit schools, hospitals, churches, and other religious structures, resulting in significant civilian casualties. As a result, nearly 100% of the population remains in temporary shelters, unable to rebuild their lives. The Karenni civil government is therefore requesting international aid and recognition, urging the global community to take action to prevent the Burmese government from acquiring aircraft, weapons, munitions, fuel, and financial support from Russia and China.
Some official reports by large aid organizations estimate that 80% of the state’s population is displaced; however, the real number is closer to 100%. In some cases, people were able to return to their homes, only to be driven out again by resumed fighting and airstrikes. In areas previously held by government forces, the threat of landmines prevents civilians from returning to their homes. When the KNDF retook their land, the Burmese army laid mines around civilian homes, particularly around churches, before retreating. As a result, in certain parts of Karenni State, entire neighborhoods of homes remain unused, while the civilian population lives under plastic tarps nearby. If peace ever comes, it will take years to remove the landmines—there’s simply no technology available to do it quickly.
The government has cut electricity, internet, and phone services to the entire state, forcing the population to rely on solar panels, generators, and Starlink. However, not everyone can afford Starlink, leaving much of the population unable to communicate with relatives in other parts of Burma.
The migration of people is also having a major negative environmental impact. In some communities, where there were only about 50 families before, there are now 5,000 people who have fled government attacks and repression in other states. The concentration of so many people in one area is putting a strain on water resources. To boil water for drinking and cooking, people are cutting down trees, leading to deforestation. This has resulted in increased flooding in the lowlands. The safest places to hide from government forces are in the upland areas, but as tree cover is removed, water is no longer retained, and streams are drying up. This makes it increasingly difficult to grow food and sustain life.
Almost no one has a wage-paying job. Soldiers, government workers, and volunteers, including teachers, doctors, nurses, and aid workers, are all unpaid. While there is some economic activity, it is limited to small bamboo and plastic shops along the roads, selling basic necessities in small quantities. Finished products are rare, with most goods being imported from Thailand or Burma. Manufacturing has nearly ceased in government-controlled areas and is nonexistent in areas controlled by the ethnic resistance forces. Finished goods and replacement parts must be ordered from Thailand or China, often taking months to arrive and costing significantly. This, along with a severe brain drain of skilled personnel, has led to delays in maintenance and repairs, causing everything from buildings to vehicles to decay and fall into disrepair.
Vehicles, in particular, are in short supply and are essential for distributing the little aid and support that exists. Displaced people, once living in communities before the war, are now living in camps along major roads. This widespread displacement stretches the civilian population across kilometers, complicating access to scarce resources. Free schools provided by the civilian government and organizations like the Catholic Church are all facing complaints that they lack transportation, as many children live kilometers away from these schools. Even for the civilian government to hold meetings or training sessions with local leaders is difficult due to the lack of vehicles and the inability to coordinate via telephone.
Every hospital in Karenni State, along with many churches, has been hit by government airstrikes at least once. Currently, there are only two functioning hospitals, which, by Western standards, is well below par. They both lack electricity and running water, and have only two or three qualified doctors, a few qualified nurses, and severe shortages of equipment and medicines. Because of inadequate electricity to operate refrigerators, the hospitals must rely on transfusions from human donors when blood is needed.
The most severe cases can be transported to Thailand for treatment, but this requires carrying patients for up to two days across broken roads, under constant threat of airstrikes, and then crossing an illegal border. Treatment in Thailand is not free and must usually be paid for through ethnic church groups founded by Burmese refugees in Thailand. After treatment, patients must return to Burma, as staying in Thailand without a visa or residence permit would be illegal.
The recent U.S. aid cuts have had a significant negative impact on relief efforts, as many services for Burmese refugees in Thailand, including food and medicine, have been reduced. Inside Burma, the Karenni civil government was receiving most of its funding from the U.S., but this was only a fraction of what is needed to support the 400,000 displaced people in the region. Unfortunately, even this funding has now been cut. Aid organizations and displaced people in Burma have expressed frustration over the millions of dollars in aid flowing into organizations in Thailand, with little of it reaching the internally displaced people in Burma. Small faith-based aid organizations, such as Free Burma Rangers (FBR), which provides frontline medical support, children’s programs, and ministry for the displaced, and Earth Mission Asia (EMA), which trains physician assistants in neighboring Karen State, are among the few willing to cross into the war zone to deliver aid to the people who need it most.
Many of the displaced people’s camps are supported through direct relationships with diaspora communities or churches outside of Burma, but they remain severely underfunded. The UN recommends a minimum of 16 kilograms of rice per person to sustain life, but many camps can only provide this amount per family. A common aid model is for a camp to conduct two distributions per month. The first distribution provides enough food to sustain life, while the second typically includes whatever additional items are available, such as cooking oil, fish paste, noodles, seasoning, and hygiene products like soap. Meat, vegetables, or fish are rarely available, but if they are, they usually form part of the second distribution. Unfortunately, most camps are struggling to provide even one distribution of rice, and many have had to eliminate the second distribution entirely. In some camps, people are left with little more than an inadequate supply of rice and have no soap or detergent for washing their clothes.
Very rarely does an IDP camp have a doctor. Some camps may have a nurse, but the nurse is often not fully qualified, and there is a severe lack of equipment and medicines. Patients can be referred to the hospital, but as mentioned earlier, only two hospitals are still operational, and they are being targeted by government airstrikes. The problem of transporting patients from the camp to the hospital remains a significant challenge. Many IDP camps lack cars or trucks, and there are almost no ambulances left in the entire state.
The situation is dire, and the people urgently need help. Meanwhile, the junta has unlimited resources from China and Russia. They have money, weapons, and fuel, while everything the civilians and resistance forces use must be smuggled over the mountains.
The Karenni people are ready to build their society—they’ve already begun under the leadership of Khun Bedu. They have established civil society institutions, built a government, and are formulating laws to govern their new society. These institutions include structures for health, education, a police force, and a uniform code of justice that would hold soldiers accountable under civilian law for crimes against civilians.
The Karenni are eager to move forward. They have the machinery and equipment to build roads, and while they have some materials, airstrikes continue to prevent them from returning to normal life. For the people of Karenni State to move on, the civil government needs international recognition and government-to-government aid. They also require the global community to prevent China and Russia from supplying the junta with money, aircraft, weapons, munitions, and fuel. Lastly, they need military aid, particularly man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), to protect themselves against government airstrikes.
