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Print:This Incident Report describes an event that occurred in Hpa-an Township, Doo Tha Htoo (Thaton) District in January 2022. On January 8th 2022, State Administration Council (SAC) soldiers from Military Operations Command (MOC) #8 conducted shelling that injured an elderly woman and her 7-year-old grandson from A--- village, D--- village tract. Although the grandson recovered, the grandmother passed away nine days after being admitted to the hospital.[1]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
Injury and death from shelling |
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Date of Incident(s) |
January 8th 2022 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
A--- village, D--- village tract[2], Hpa-an Township, Doo Tha Htoo (Thaton) District |
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Victim Information |
||
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Name |
Naw B--- |
Saw C--- |
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Age |
88 |
7 |
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Sex |
Female |
Male |
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Nationality |
Karen |
Karen |
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Family |
Married |
Unmarried |
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Occupation |
Retired |
Student |
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Religion |
Buddhist |
Buddhist |
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Position |
Villager |
Villager |
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Village |
A--- village |
A--- village |
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Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors) |
||||
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Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
|
Unknown |
Unknown |
State Administration Council (SAC)[3] Military Operations Command (MOC)[4] #8, Artillery Unit |
Pi Ne Taw army camp in Pi Ne Taw village, Maw Lay village tract, Tha Htoo (Thaton) Township, Doo Tha Htoo District |
Unknown |
Part 2 - Information Quality
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1. Explain in detail how you collected this information. |
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The D--- village tract administrator, Saw E---, went to interview the injured villagers and their family members at the hospital the day after the shelling incident. Following that, the KHRG field researcher contacted the village tract administrator by phone and collected the information and photos from him. The KHRG field researcher later contacted one of the family members [the father of the 7-year-old boy] to confirm the information. |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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The KHRG field researcher confirmed the information provided by the D--- village tract administrator with Saw G---, the father of Saw C--- and son-in-law of Naw B---. |
Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident
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Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed. |
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At 7:10 pm on January 8th 2022, SAC soldiers from MOC #8 at Pi Ne Taw army camp [in Pi Ne Taw village, Maw Lay village tract, Tha Htoo Township, Doo Tha Htoo District] indiscriminately fired one mortar shell into A--- village, D--- village tract, Hpa-an Township, Doo Tha Htoo District. Naw B---, an 88-year-old woman living in B--- village, and her 7-year-old grandson, Saw C---, were hit by fragments of the mortar shell [that landed close to their house]. [The victims did not have enough time to reach the bunker under their house before the shell exploded]. The grandmother was hit on the lower part of her belly, and the grandson was injured on his right clavicle. The injured woman and her grandson were initially treated at their home by village healthcare workers [who cleaned their wounds and gave them pain medicine] before they were taken to Pwa Ghaw hospital (P’Lan Taung Taik Naing hospital) in Pwa Ghaw village, Ha T’Reh (Ha T’Laik) village tract, Hpa-an Township.
Before dawn on January 9th 2022, the injured villagers rented one of the A--- villagers’ cars and were driven by the car’s owner to Pwa Ghaw hospital, a 16-bed hospital [located an hour away by car from A--- village]. Naw B--- received treatment there for over a week [one week and two days] but she eventually passed away because her injury was very severe. Saw C--- was hospitalised for three days. The mortar shell fragments were removed from the grandson’s clavicle and he made a full recovery. Although SAC soldiers conducted the shelling and are the perpetrators of this incident, they have not provided any support to the victims. [The victims’ family, which relies on farm work for their livelihood, have had to bear the medical costs themselves.] The treatment for both villagers cost 470,000 kyats [USD 223.81][5], as well as 30,000 kyats [USD 14.29] for the transportation to the hospital. [As of August 2022, the family has fully paid for the medical costs.]
Due to the SAC’s constant and indiscriminate mortar shelling in A--- village tract, Hpa-an Township, Doo Tha Htoo District, some local villagers have built bunkers under their houses. [According to the KHRG field researcher, there has not been any other shelling activity in A--- village since this incident.] |
Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details
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Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided. |
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One of the victims’ family members allowed KHRG to use and publish the information he provided. |
Further background reading on the human rights situation in Doo Tha Htoo District in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- "Doo Tha Htoo District Short Update: Killing, torture and use of human shields and navigators by the SAC and BGF in Bilin Township, May to June 2022”, August 2022.
- "Doo Tha Htoo District Short Update: SAC troops arbitrarily detain seven villagers, March 2022”, June 2022.
- “Doo Tha Htoo District Short Update: Deliberate SAC shelling at religious event results in civilian deaths, injuries and property damage in Tha Htoo Township, March 2022”, April 2022.
- “Doo Tha Htoo District Short Update: Ongoing fighting in Bilin Township leads to more than 2,000 IDPs, as well as injury and property damage, December 21st 2021 to January 11th 2022”, March 2022.
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in June 2022. It was provided by a community member in Doo Tha Htoo District who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions on the ground. The names of the victims, their photos and the exact locations are censored for security reasons. The parts in square brackets are explanations added by KHRG.
[2] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.
[3] The State Administration Council (SAC) is the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the February 1st 2021 military coup. It was established by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on February 2nd 2021, and is composed of eight military officers and eight civilians. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Burma/Myanmar and leads the Military Cabinet of Myanmar, the executive branch of the government. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of SAC chairperson following the coup.
[4] Military Operations Command (MOC) is comprised of ten battalions for offensive operations. Most MOCs have three Tactical Operations Commands (TOCs) made up of three battalions each.
[5] All conversion estimates for the kyat are based on the December 20th 2022 mid-market exchange rate of 1,000 kyats to USD 0.48 (taken from https://wise.com/gb/currency-converter/mmk-to-usd-rate).
