General Saw Mo Shay, commander-in-chief of Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), died of COVID-19 at the Defence Services Liver Specialist Hospital in Mingalardon on  July 21 evening according to Major General Zaw Min Tun, leader of the Information team of State Administrative Council. 

He was admitted to the Defence Services Liver Specialist Hospital in Mingalardon on July 12.

“General Saw Mo Shay, commander-in-chief of Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), was admitted to Defence Services Liver Specialist Hospital in Mingalardon on July 12 with COVID-19 and died at 5:00 pm on  July 21,” said Major General Zaw Min Tun.

DKBA broke away from Karen National Union (KNU) in 1994. It is currently a stakeholder and signatory of Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). It was originally known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, one of the many ethnic armed groups in myanmar.

Before the 2010 General Election, when DKBA was transformed as a Border Guard Force under the command of the military, the late General Saw Lar Bwe aka Bo Hnut Khan Hmwe led a separate force under the DKBA name, breaking away from it.

During president Thein Sein administration in 2015, when the ethnic armed groups signed in the NCA, DKBA led by General Saw Lar Bwe also signed the NCA along with other seven ethnic armed groups.

General Saw Lar Bwe died on March 13, 2016 with throat cancer. From then on, General Saw Mo Shay took up the position as the commander in chief of the DKBA.

DKBA is known to have a good relationship with the military. General Saw Mo Shay was 53 when he died.

The group had also officially changed the B of the DKBA from “Buddhist” to “Benevolent” in 2015.