Type of Incident

[Shelling.] After the earthquake, SAC [State Administration Council[2]] soldiers fired mortar shells into a village and killed a woman.

Date of Incident(s)

April 4th 2025

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Aa--- village, Myauk Kya Inn village tract[3], Kruh Tuh Township, Dooplaya District.

Victim Information

Name

Naw[4] A---

Age

57 years old

Gender

Woman

Ethnicity

Karen

Marital Status  

Married

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

Aa--- village, Myauk Kya Inn village tract, Kruh Tuh Township, Dooplaya District.

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

Military Operations Command (MOC)[5] #12 [Artillery]

Hlaing Wa Artillery Unit [army camp, Hlaing Wa area, near Kaw T’Ree Town] in Kaw T’Ree Township.

Unknown.

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

[A KHRG researcher] saw the information on [the Karen National Union (KNU)[6]’s] Dooplaya District social media [page] and contacted the [Kruh Tuh] Township’s [KNU] Documentation Group[7]. Then, [the KHRG researcher] conducted an interview with a family member of the victim [named Naw B---]. 

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

Naw B--- provided this information. She is the victim [Naw A---]’s daughter-in-law. She was present at the incident place when the mortar shell landed and killed her mother-in-law.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On April 1st 2025 at 5 pm, after the earthquake [that occurred on March 28th 2025], SAC soldiers from MOC #12, based at the Hlaing Wa Artillery Unit [camp], in Kaw T’Ree Township, fired five 120 mm mortar rounds, despite the [fact that] fighting had not happened near the army camp on that day. These five mortar shells landed in Aa--- village [area], Myauk Kya Inn village tract, Kruh Tuh Township, Dooplaya District. The first and second mortar shells landed outside the village. The third mortar shell landed [and exploded] next to the house of a villager named Naw A---, and killed Naw A--- and her dog as well as damaged the roof of the house. The other two mortar shells landed in another villager’s [coconut] plantation and did not cause much damage [only to some coconut trees].  

Naw A--- was talking on the phone with her daughter in front of the house. A mortar shell landed next to her and the shrapnel hit her on the nape. She fell to the ground and fainted. Then, her son came to her and tried to wake her up. Naw B--- [the victim’s daughter-in-law] explained [to KHRG]: “Her [Naw A---’s] son kept calling her and she regained consciousness for a short period of time. I asked her son to bring her to the house. She told us that she had been hit on her eardrum. She told her son, ‘do not worry for me’. She was able to speak only two words. She said that she had been hit on her eardrum. Actually, she had been hit on her nape. She might have thought that she had been hit on her eardrum.” Naw A--- fainted immediately after she was hit by the shrapnel. She regained conscious shortly before her son [Naw B---’s husband] took her into the house. After she was brought into the house, she lost consciousness again until she died.

On April 2nd 2025, the victim’s family members, villagers, and religious leaders [from Aa--- village, Myauk Kya Inn village tract] cremated Naw A---’s body. The victim’s relatives and villagers provided some money for Naw A---’s funeral ceremony. However, the victim’s family members did not receive any [additional] support from any [humanitarian] organisation.

Regarding this incident, Naw B--- stated: “I want to say [that the SAC should] fire shells at those who attacked them. They [SAC] conducted shelling into a village, but there was no enemy [armed resistance group] living in the village. The shelling landed in the village and injured my mother-in-law.”

Starting since the [2021] military coup, [fighting, shelling, and air strikes] had displaced villagers from Myauk Kya Inn village tract, Kruh Tuh Township, Dooplaya District.[8] However, recently [in March 2025] the villagers returned to their villages because SAC soldiers were no longer based at the bridge located between Taung Kya Inn village tract and Myauk Kya Inn village tract. Despite the earthquake [on March 28th 2025], the SAC soldiers conducted shelling. As a result, villagers are facing insecurity in their lives.  

Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided.

The information, photos and interview can be used [since the victim’s family member gave permission to KHRG.]