The BPLA's growth owes much to Maung Saungkha's skills in building bridges with other armed groups, according to a key ally and two analysts.
It says armed groups that oppose it are "terrorists" who sow chaos and kill civilians.
It has charged Maung Saungkha with sedition as it has done with most opponents of its rule.
Some armed ethnic groups have long relied on drug trafficking for funds, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Some soldiers have run away, homesick, bored and tired after two years of war, said Maung Saungkha, who declined to disclose how many members are in his group.
Persons:
Maung Saungkha, Bamar, Maung, Aunt Min, Richard Horsey, Nicola Williams, General Nyo Tun Aung, Tun Aung, We've, Shoon Naing, Poppy McPherson, Edwina Gibbs
Organizations:
Liberation Army, REUTERS, Poet, People's Defense Forces, National Unity Government, Strategy, AK, Karen National Union, Arakan Army, Myanmar Resistance, Myanmar Research, United Nations Office, Drugs, Reuters, UN, Thomson
Locations:
Myanmar, country's, Thailand, Myanmar's, Bamar, China, Russia