Burma Signs Ceasefire with Karen Rebel Group

The Burmese government has signed a ceasefire agreement with a prominent ethnic rebel group, in what appeared to be a major breakthrough in efforts to end a 63-year insurgency.

Government officials signed the deal Thursday with the Karen National Union during a meeting in Pa-an, the capital of Karen state.

Karen rebels, which operate in southeast Burma, have been fighting government forces for autonomy since just after the country gained independence from Britain in 1948.