The Myanmar government has signed a ceasefire agreement with ethnic Karen rebels, taking a major step toward ending one of the world's longest-running insurgencies.<br /><br />The government's peace committee met on Thursday with leaders of the Karen National Union in the Karen state capital, Hpa-an.<br /><br />The negotiations were part of government efforts to end international<br />isolation. Ending war with ethnic rebels is one of the conditions set by<br />Western countries for improved relations.<br /><br />Karen rebels have been fighting for autonomy for 63 years and were the only major group in Myanmar that had not reached a peace agreement with the government.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports from Mae Sot in neighbouring Thailand where hundreds of thousands of Karen are living as refugees.
