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Print:This Incident Report describes events that occurred in Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District in September 2022. On September 12th 2022, SAC soldiers arbitrarily killed a male villager near his farm hut. This incident followed clashes between KNLA and SAC troops in the region. Local villagers remain afraid to check on their livestock and plantations, and many fled their living area.[1]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
Killing |
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Date of Incident(s) |
September 12th 2022 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
T’Hkaw Pwa village, T’Hkaw Pwa village tract, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District |
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Victim Information |
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Name |
Saw[2] Raw Bay Htoo |
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Age |
60 |
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Sex |
Male |
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Nationality |
Karen |
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Family |
Married |
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Occupation |
Farmer |
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Religion |
Christian |
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Position |
Villager |
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Village |
T’Hkaw Pwa village |
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Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors) |
||||
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Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
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Unknown |
Unknown |
Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #590, #599 and junta backed militia (Pyi Thu Sit) |
Aaw Law See army camp, T’Hkaw Pwa village tract, Moo Township |
Unknown |
Part 2 - Information Quality
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1. Explain in detail how you collected this information. |
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A KHRG researcher conducted an interview with Saw Raw Bay Htoo’s wife, Naw[3] W---. |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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Saw V---, a villager from T’Hkaw Pwar village, witnessed the incident from a distance. |
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 around 5:30 pm on September 12th 2022, around eight State Administration Council (SAC)[4] soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[5] #599, #590, and the Pyi Thu Sit[6], based in Aaw Law See army camp, T’Hkaw Pwa village tract, Moo Township, went to the farm hut of Saw Raw Bay Htoo [a T’Hkaw Pwa villager], located in A--- [near T’Hkaw Pwa village], T’Hkaw Pwa village tract, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District, while he was feeding his cat.
Another villager, Saw V---, witnessed the incident from a distance. He saw that the SAC soldiers came to Saw Raw Bay Htoo’s farm hut, then shouted at him and shot him with a gun [the witness did not see where the victim was hit]. Then, he saw Saw Raw Bay Htoo trying to run away. He [Saw V---] got scared and ran away from his hut.
When the witness reached Hsaw Kwaw Day Place, T’Hkaw Pwa village tract, located far enough [approximately half an hour on foot] from the incident location, he phoned Saw Raw Bay Htoo’s children and other villagers to tell them about the incident. Villagers and the victim’s family members waited until 9:00 pm to see whether Saw Raw Bay Htoo would show up, but he did not. Because he did not show up, they went to look for him. At around 10:00 pm, they found his body on the ground near his hut, but he was already dead. They saw that Saw Raw Bay Htoo was shot in his back and the bullet penetrated through the base of his neck. His body was taken to Yay Ka village, Th’Waw T’Ku village tract, Moo Township for his funeral service. His body could not be brought back to his own village, T’Hkaw Pwa, because all its villagers left the village and were displaced since July 2022 [when fighting between the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[7] and SAC broke out].
About two months before the incident happened, on July 2nd 2022, KNLA soldiers went to stay at the place where Saw Raw Bay Htoo’s farm hut was located in order to monitor the situation in the area before attacking the SAC Aaw Law See army camp located in T’Hkaw Pwa village tract, Moo Township on the same day. Following the fighting, all T’Hkaw Pwa villagers fled their village. Because of this event, local villagers assumed that the SAC soldiers came to that place and shot dead the villager [Saw Raw Bay Htoo] whom they saw there [because they suspected that he was providing information to the KNLA].
After the incident [Saw Raw Bay Htoo’s killing] happened, villagers were afraid to go and check on their livestock and plantations in their livelihood area. Therefore, many villagers’ paddies have been destroyed by buffaloes and cows. To protect themselves from the oppression of SAC soldiers, villagers have also fled from their village and sought refuge in other places [including forest areas]. |
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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The victim’s family, including his wife, gave KHRG permission to use the information provided. |
Further background reading on the security and human rights situation in Kler Lwee Htoo District in Southeast Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- “Kler Lwee Htoo District Incident Report: SAC soldiers shot dead a female villager in Moo Township, November 2022”, February 2023.
- “Kler Lwee Htoo District Short Update: Fighting and displacement, air strikes and SAC indiscriminate shelling, July to September 2022”, February 2023.
- “Kler Lwee Htoo District Incident Report: Disappearance of villagers after being arrested by SAC soldiers, August 2022”, February 2023.
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“Kler Lwee Htoo District Situation Update: Air strikes, displacement and humanitarian aid, January to April 2022”, February 2023.
These photos were taken on September 13th 2022 in Yay Ka village, Th’Waw T’Ku village tract, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District. The left photo shows the corpse of Saw Raw Bay Htoo on the day of his funeral. The right photo shows the cross prepared for his funeral. [Photos: Local villager]
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in September 2022. It was provided by a community member in Kler Lwee 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] Saw is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.
[3] Naw is a S’gaw Karen female honorific title used before a person’s name.
[4] 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.
[5] A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. However, most Light Infantry Battalions in the Tatmadaw are under-strength with less than 200 soldiers. Yet up to date information regarding the size of battalions is hard to come by, particularly following the signing of the NCA. LIBs are primarily used for offensive operations, but they are sometimes used for garrison duties.
[6] Pyithu sit translates to ‘people’s militia,’ which is a militia structure into which local civilians are conscripted to serve in village or town militia groups. For further reading on the pyithu sit, see “Enduring Hunger and Repression; Food Scarcity, Internal Displacement, and the Continued Use of Forced Labor in Toungoo District,” KHRG, September 2004.
[7] The Karen National Liberation Army is the armed wing of the Karen National Union.
