The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) leader Major General Saw Ler Pwe, also known as Na Kham Mwe, died aged 55 from cancer on 13 March said Saw Yin Kyi, the Kawkareik DKBA Liaison officer.
He said: “Grandpa Saw Ler Pwe suddenly vomited coming home on his way back from church. He was then sent to Pegu Hospital and died there.”
DKBA sources said the body was going to be transported from Pegu to the DKBA headquarters in Kawkareik Township.
General Saw Ler Pwe had undergone unsuccessful treatment for the cancer in both Burma and Singapore.
The DKBA broke away from the Karen National Union in 1994, and signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burma military regime who supported the group with weapons and money.
After refusing to join the Border Guard Force the DKBA started fighting the government again on 8 November 2010, the day after the national elections.
The group then signed another ceasefire with Thein Sein’s government in November 2011.
General Saw Ler Pwe became infamous in Thailand after the Thai authorities accused him of trafficking drugs and included him on a list of their 25 most wanted drug dealers in April 2012.
In response to his inclusion on the list General Saw Ler Pwe called a press conference at the Kaw Thoo Mwe Khee Section in the Walay Area of Myawaddy Township to respond to the allegations made against him by the then Thai Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung.
He said that the Thai Government had been wrong to include him on the list, that he was innocent and that neither he nor any of his soldiers had ever been involved in the drug trade.
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
