Burma

Published on Saturday 4 April 2009 19:57

BURMA yesterday announced that it had made peace with a splinter group of Karen rebels.

The state-backed Myanma Ahlin daily said that Saw Nay Soe Mya, the son of a late Karen leader, his 71 followers and 88 of their family members had turned themselves in to authorities. They will be allowed to keep their weapons.

Nay Soe Mya could not be reached, and it was impossible to independently verify the report. Even if true, the latest peace deal is unlikely to end fighting between Karen rebels and the government, since his group represents such a small number of fighters. The Karen National Union has been fighting for half a century for greater autonomy. It is the largest ethnic rebel group and the only major one which has yet to sign a ceasefire with the junta.