Pa-O National Army
Insurgent group in Myanmar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pa-O National Army (Pa'o Karen: ပအိုဝ်ႏစွိုးခွိုꩻတပ်မတောႏ, Burmese: ပအိုဝ်းအမျိုးသားတပ်မတော်; abbreviated PNA) is a Pa-O state sponsored militia in Myanmar (Burma). It was established in 1949 and is the armed wing of the Pa-O National Organisation.[4][5]
| Pa-O National Army | |
|---|---|
| ပအိုဝ်ႏစွိုးခွိုꩻတပ်မတောႏ | |
Flag of the Pa-O people, used by the PNA | |
Leader | U Aung Kham Hti[1] |
Military leader | Khun Myint Aung |
| Dates active | 1949 – 9 December 2009; 2021–present |
| Headquarters | Taunggyi, Shan State, Myanmar |
| Active regions | Pa-O Self-Administered Zone (controlled territory) |
| Ideology | Pa-O nationalism
Buddhist nationalism[2] Ultranationalism[2] |
| Size | 4,000 (2023) 41,000 (2024)[3] |
| Wars | the Internal conflict in Myanmar |
The PNA protects the PNO-governed Pa-O Self-Administered Zone, which consists of three townships in southern Shan State: Hopong, Hsi Hseng, and Pinlaung townships.[1]
The PNA signed a ceasefire agreement with the then ruling State Peace and Development Council on 11 April 1991 and reformed itself as a people's militia force. It merged with other Pa-O paramilitary groups on 9 December 2009.[5][6] Following the military coup d'état on 1 February 2021, there have been reports of PNA forcibly recruiting locals, extorting money and conducting joint operations with the Burmese military against resistance groups.[7][8] An outpost occupied by allied forces of the Burmese military and PNA in Nyaung Shwe Township, southern Shan State was seized by a joint force of Pekon People's Defence Force and Karenni Nationalities Defence Force in May 2022.[9]
On 9 January 2025, the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force captured an alleged 15 year-old child soldier in the PNA.[10]
