Born in 1988, when students fled to Burma?s eastern border, the ABSDF army is now only a shell... "The All Burma Students? Democratic Front was born out of bloodshed and political necessity. Many of its founding members fled Burma after the 1988 uprising and the brutal military coup that followed, and they formed the ABSDF in Karen National Union-controlled area near the Thailand-Burma border. Years of fighting a relentlessly cruel and well-funded army, diseases endemic to their jungle habitat such as malaria, dengue fever and a variety of respiratory illnesses, and the attrition of their forces, have taken their toll on the ABSDF. Most of the soldiers come from Rangoon or other urban areas, and the adaptation to a jungle environment is slow and difficult. A mere 300 of Burma?s kyaung-thar tatmadaw, or student army, remain in the field..."