DKBA-5

{{Short description|Insurgent group in Myanmar}}

{{Distinguish|text=the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}

{{Infobox war faction

| name = Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - Brigade 5

| native_name = ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော် - တပ်မဟာ 5

| native_name_lang = my

| war = the internal conflict in Myanmar

| image = Flag of DKBA.svg{{!}}border

| caption = Flag of the DKBA still used by the DKBA-5

| active = {{start date|2010}}–present

| leaders = Saw Mo Shay (2016–2021){{cite news|title=DKBA appoints new Commander-in-Chief|url=http://www.mizzima.com/news-domestic/dkba-appoints-new-commander-chief|accessdate=24 December 2016|work=Mizzima|date=22 April 2016|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108174815/http://www.mizzima.com/news-domestic/dkba-appoints-new-commander-chief|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=General Saw Mo Shay Appointed As DKBA's New Commander-in-Chief|url=http://www.karentimes.net/general-saw-mo-shay-appointed-as-dkba-s-new-commander-in-chief.html|accessdate=24 December 2016|work=Karen Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225144004/http://www.karentimes.net/general-saw-mo-shay-appointed-as-dkba-s-new-commander-in-chief.html|archive-date=25 December 2016|url-status=dead}}
Bo Nat Khann Mway (2010–2016){{cite news|last1=Naing|first1=Saw Yan|title=Charismatic DKBA Leader Dies at 54|url=http://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/charismatic-dkba-leader-dies-at-53.html|accessdate=24 December 2016|work=The Irrawaddy|date=14 March 2016|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923151416/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/charismatic-dkba-leader-dies-at-53.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=DKBA Leader, Major General Saw Ler Pwe Succumbs To Cancer « Karen News|url=http://karennews.org/2016/03/dkba-leader-major-general-saw-ler-pwe-succumbs-to-cancer.html/|accessdate=24 December 2016|work=karennews.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225081556/http://karennews.org/2016/03/dkba-leader-major-general-saw-ler-pwe-succumbs-to-cancer.html/|archive-date=25 December 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=DKBA leader Na Kham Mwe dies of cancer - The Nation|url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/DKBA-leader-Na-Kham-Mwe-dies-of-cancer-30281487.html|work=The Nation|access-date=24 December 2016|archive-date=11 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411215620/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/DKBA-leader-Na-Kham-Mwe-dies-of-cancer-30281487.html|url-status=dead}}

| ideology = Karen nationalism
Theravada Buddhism

| clans =

| predecessor = Democratic Karen Buddhist Army

| headquarters = Sonesee Myaing, Myawaddy Township, Myanmar

| area = Kayin State

| size = 3,000

{{Cite web |url=http://www.mmpeacemonitor.org/stakeholders/armed-ethnic-groups |title=Myanmar Peace Monitor |access-date=31 December 2015 |archive-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508021630/http://www.mmpeacemonitor.org/stakeholders/armed-ethnic-groups |url-status=live }}{{cite news|title=Peace may prove elusive as divisions sap strength of karen national union {{!}} Bangkok Post: news|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/316916/peace-may-prove-elusive-as-divisions-sap-strength-of-karen-national-union|accessdate=10 March 2018|work=www.bangkokpost.com|publisher=Bangkok Post|date=14 October 2012|language=en}}

| allies = {{flagicon image|ANC-AA Flag.svg}} Arakan Army (Kayin State)

{{flagicon image|Flag of the Karen National Union.svg}} Karen National Union

• {{flagicon image|Flag of the KNLA.svg}} Karen National Liberation Army

| opponents = {{flag|Myanmar}}

• {{flagicon image|Flag of the Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) of Myanmar.svg}} Tatmadaw

| battles = Internal conflict in Myanmar

• Karen conflict
• 2010–2012 Myanmar border clashes
• Myanmar civil war (2021–present)

| identification_symbol_label = Buddhist flag variant

| identification_symbol = File:DKBA-5 Buddhist Flag Variant.svg

}}

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - Brigade 5 ({{langx|my|ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော် - တပ်မဟာ 5}}; abbreviated DKBA-5), also known as the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army ({{langx|my|ဒီမိုကရက်တစ်ကရင်အကျိုးပြုတပ်မတော်}}; abbreviated DKBA) and the Klo Htoo Baw Battalion by the Burmese government, is a Karen Buddhist insurgent group in Myanmar. The group was led by Bo Nat Khann Mway, also known as "Saw Lah Pwe", until his death in 2016.

The DKBA-5 split from the original Democratic Karen Buddhist Army in 2010 and is loosely affiliated with the Karen National Union. They have also worked with the Arakan Army.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mmpeacemonitor.org/stakeholders/stakeholders-overview/193-aa-arakan-army |title=Myanmar Peace Monitor - Arakan Army (Karen Region) |access-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429034544/http://mmpeacemonitor.org/stakeholders/stakeholders-overview/193-aa-arakan-army |archive-date=29 April 2017 |url-status=dead }}

During the 2010 general election, the DKBA-5 attacked government troops and security forces in Myawaddy Township, Kayin State.{{cite web |title=Myanmar Peace Monitor: Stakeholders - DKBA-5 |url=http://mmpeacemonitor.org/stakeholders/stakeholders-overview/159-dkba-5 |access-date=8 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022635/http://mmpeacemonitor.org/stakeholders/stakeholders-overview/159-dkba-5 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=dead }} The group signed a ceasefire agreement with the government on 3 November 2011, though they have not agreed to disarming, unlike their DKBA predecessors in 2010.{{cite news |title=Myanmar rebel armies join forces |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia-pacific/2010/11/2010111245020326197.html |work=Al-Jazeera English |date=12 November 2010 |accessdate=12 November 2010 |archive-date=13 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113231454/http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia-pacific/2010/11/2010111245020326197.html |url-status=live }}

On World Children's Day 2020, DKBA-5 signed the first Myanmar Joint Action Plan with the United Nations to end recruitment of child soldiers.{{cite web | title= On World Children’s Day, a new hope for children in Myanmar: The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army signs a Joint Action Plan to End & Prevent the Recruitment and Use of Children| publisher= Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict| date=20 November 2020 | url= https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2020/11/on-world-childrens-day-a-new-hope-for-children-in-myanmar-the-democratic-karen-benevolent-army-signs-a-joint-action-plan-to-end-prevent-the-recruitment-and-use-of-children/}}

In 2025, it handed over hundreds of foreigners, who had previously been forced to work in online scams, to authorities in Thailand.{{cite news| last=Head | first=Jonathan | title=Hundreds of foreigners freed from Myanmar's scam centres | publisher=BBC News| date=13 February 2025 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2d3w90x86po}}{{cite news | author=Ingyin Naing | title= 261 trafficking victims rescued from Myanmar scam center | publisher=Voice of America | date=12 February 2025 | url= https://www.voanews.com/amp/trafficking-victims-rescued-from-myanmar-scam-center/7972816.html}}{{cite news | title= Over 250 People Rescued From Myanmar Scam Center, Released at Thai Border | publisher=Agence France-Presse | date=13 February 2025 | url= https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/asia/over-250-people-rescued-from-myanmar-scam-center-released-at-thai-border.html}}