Type of Incident

Air strikes [and shelling].

Date of Incident(s)

May 25th and 29th 2025.

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

 Aa--- and Ab--- villages, Thay Baw Boe village tract[2], Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District.

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Type of aircraft

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Fighter jet

Burma [State Administration Council (SAC)[4]] Air Force

Unknown

General Htun Aung serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Burma (SAC) Air Force

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

I [the KHRG researcher] received the information from a local authority [named Saw I---, who is a village secretary in Aa--- village] and went to take photos in person [to Aa--- and Ab--- villages, Thay Baw Boe village tract]. Then, I conducted interviews with a teacher [named Saw L---, who is the Aa--- school vice principal,] and with a victim’s family member [: Naw[5] E---, wife of Saw D---]. [Later on, the KHRG researcher also interviewed a school committee member from Ab--- village].

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

Naw E--- (the wife of Saw D---, who was injured), Saw I--- (the village secretary of Aa--- village), and Saw L--- (the vice principal of Aa--- school) told me [the KHRG researcher] that the incident caused casualties and damages in the village. I also interviewed a committee member from Ab--- village school named Ma[6] G---. [The information is verified as the interviewees are either victims of the attack or witnessed it.]

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

May 25th 2025: SAC air strike and mortar shelling injured two villagers in Ab--- village, Thay Baw Boe village tract:

On May 25th 2025, an [SAC] fighter jet dropped around five bombs in Ab--- village, Thay Baw Boe village tract [but caused no casualties].

Following the air strike, [on the same day,] [Burma Army[7] soldiers fired [an unknown number of] mortar shells into the village, injuring two siblings. The names of the injured are Saw J--- and K--- [unknown ages]. A school committee member from Ab--- village said that villagers believe the mortar shelling came from [Burma Army’s] Ghaw Lay army camp, in Ghaw Lay village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township.

May 29th 2025: SAC air strikes in Ab--- village causing damage:

Again, on May 29th 2025, a [Burma Army] fighter jet dropped around four or five bombs in Ab---  village, one of which remained unexploded. [An unknown number of bombs] landed in front of a primary school and damaged the school building and a dormitory. [This school is administered by the Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD)[8].] The explosions also damaged four houses [unknown owner].

May 29th 2025: SAC bombardment injured four villagers in Aa--- village, Thay Baw Boe village tract:

On May 29th 2025, between 6:46 and 7 pm, an SAC fighter jet dropped 11 bombs on Aa--- village, Thay Baw Boe village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District.

Three bombs landed on a pine forest [outside the village], including one that did not explode.

A bomb landed near a shop owned by a teacher named H--- and destroyed it. One also landed on a house owned by a villager named Naw E---, damaging the house, her belongings, and a tractor [used for farming], as well as injuring her husband [named Saw D---]. [Another] one landed beside a house owned by the school vice principal [Saw L---], and exploded on some trees, damaging the roof of his house. [Similarly,] one bomb landed in front of a girls’ dormitory [in Aa--- school compound, administered by the KECD], damaging the dormitory and two school buildings, one for primary students and one for middle school students. The remaining four bombs exploded in a monastery, causing damage to three buildings and a pagoda.

[Furthermore,] four people were injured by the air strike. A 28-year-old man named Saw D---, husband of Naw E---, from Aa--- village, was injured by the shrapnel from [one of the] bomb explosions. After the incident, he was accompanied by Commander Da Baw, of the KNLA [Karen National Liberation Army][9] Cobra Column[10], to Ae--- military clinic, in Thay Baw Boh village tract, for treatment.

Three students were also injured by the bombs, although it is unclear which [specific] bomb caused the injuries. Fourteen-year-old Saw A---, who is a Grade-7 student from Ad--- village, Noh Hpoh village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, sustained serious injuries on his thigh and was sent to Ag--- hospital in Thailand [’s Tak province]. Fifteen-year-old and 16-year-old Saw B--- and Saw C---, who are Grade 7 students from Ac--- village, Noh Hpoh village tract, were also injured by the shrapnel and sent to Ae--- military clinic, as both of their wounds were not serious. These three students go to the same school in Aa--- village.

During the treatment, the three students could not go to school. [As of June 27th 2025,] they had not recovered yet. The parents of the students were worried about their children, as they were far away from each other [the three students are from other villages and moved to Aa--- village to go to school].

A [Karen National Union (KNU)[11]] local leader warned villagers that an aircraft would come, but the villagers did not believe it, as it [air strike] had never happened before in the village. According to the village secretary, named Saw I---: “There are no soldiers or army camps in the village, and nearby the village. They [SAC] just target directly to villagers”. [The KHRG researcher updated in November 2025 that the students had already recovered.]

As of November 2025, children do not dare to go to school in the village due to security concerns, and they have to study in the forest. According to Saw L---, the school vice principal: “There will be families of soldiers [KNLA] living among the villagers in the village, so an aircraft conducted an air strike. Sometimes, Burmese [workers] also come to work in the village; we don’t know if there will be a spy among them. Then, they will know where the houses of soldiers’ families are and send the information to [the SAC].” This does not mean that soldiers are based in the village, only their relatives.

Challenges faced by Aa--- and Ab--- villagers during displacement:

Due to the air strike, most villagers from Aa--- and Ab--- villages have been displaced to other villages, to the forest, or to their plantations. They do not dare to return to their village to work for their livelihood. Those who are displaced in the forest experience many challenges, as they cannot work and they could not bring many belongings with them. While they are living in the place where they have moved to [the displacement site], they receive some support, such as mosquito nets, from local organisations [including the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP)], but it is not enough for everyone. Those who remain in the village worry that an aircraft will conduct another air strike.

[Moreover,] villagers from Aa--- village do not have enough medicine for patients, and there is no clinic or hospital in the village, only health workers. However, if the situation is not good, they [health workers] flee to their huts for security, as they are also villagers. The biggest problem is the lack of connection [internet] when someone needs urgent health [medical treatment]. According to the village secretary, Saw I---: “When someone is seriously sick, we look for a health worker, but if they are not at their home, no one takes care of the patient. It is very difficult because we cannot do anything when someone is really sick and needs urgent treatment”.

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

KHRG can use all of the information reported. Naw E---, wife of one of the victims; Saw I---, the Aa--- village secretary; Saw L---, vice principal from Aa--- village; a brother of Saw A---, one of the injured students; and a school committee member from Ab--- village allowed KHRG to use this information for publication.