This Situation Update describes events that occurred in Bu Tho and Dwe Lo townships, Mu Traw District during the period between December 2021 and March 2022. This update includes information about the arbitrary arrest (and execution order) of a villager by Border Guard Force (BGF) and State Administration Council (SAC) troops, other threats and physical assault by SAC troops, indiscriminate shelling that resulted in multiple deaths and injury, reconnaissance missions and air strikes. A villager also died after stepping on a landmine. The increased insecurity in Bu Tho and Dwe Lo townships has led to livelihood difficulties, an inability to travel, and greater feelings of fear among villagers living in these townships.[1]

 

Arbitrary arrest by Border Guard Force (BGF)[2] and State Administration Council (SAC)[3] troops

On December 27th 2021, SAC soldiers [from an unknown battalion] and BGF soldiers from Battalion #1014 entered H--- village, Meh Pree village tract[4], Bu Tho Township and arrested a villager named Saw[5] O--- and took him to a camp [close to Tha Ghaw Play village, Lay Hpoh Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township] where BGF Battalion #1014 is based. BGF soldiers claimed that Saw O--- had been communicating with the Karen National Union (KNU)[6] and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[7]. Therefore, he was arrested. Saw O--- has not been released yet, and his family members did not receive any information about him [at first]. Later, the villagers and his family heard that the commander of BGF Battalion #1014 gave an order for the execution of H--- villager, Saw O---. [However, at the time of publication, neither his family nor the other villagers have received any further information, so it is unclear if he has already been executed or if an execution date has been set.]

Threats and physical assault by SAC troops

On January 2nd 2022, Saw Maw Nee, a corporal from BGF Battalion #1014, who is based in Meh Pree army camp, took drugs and threatened three villagers [whom he encountered] from E--- village, Meh Pree village tract, Bu Tho Township, by indiscriminately firing about 30 rounds from an ArmaLite Rifle (AR). [He fired into the village, and these three villagers were in close proximity to the corporal when he was firing the gun.] The three villagers who were threatened were Saw A--- (20 years old), Saw G--- (33 years old), and Saw D--- (22 years old).

On January 7th 2022, Corporal Saw Maw Nee from BGF Battalion #1014 who was based in Meh Pree army camp had a meeting with the village heads of S--- village and M--- village, located in Meh Pree village tract, Bu Tho Township and told them that if Meh Pree army camp was attacked, they would come and burn down every village in Meh Pree village tract.

On January 8th 2022, SAC soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[8] #406 who are based in Hpapun Town, Dwe Lo Township went to Section 3 of the town and saw Saw L--- who, at the time, was cutting the bushes behind his house. SAC soldiers asked Saw L--- to sit down and take off his clothes. Then, they punched him in the face [numerous times]. It was about 30 minutes before they let him go. [KHRG did not receive information about the reason for the assault.]

Mortar shelling by SAC troops[9]

On January 1st 2022, the SAC indiscriminately fired mortars into some of the villages in Dwe Lo Township. On the evening of January 7th 2022, SAC soldiers from LIB #341, based in Hpapun Town indiscriminately fired one mortar into Way Naw village (also known as Bgeh Klah village) in Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township. However, no one was injured and there was no damage [to buildings].

At around 10:30 am on January 4th 2022, SAC LIB #341 which is based at Hkaw Poo army camp, [located close to villages in Hkaw Poo village tract], indiscriminately fired mortars into  villagers’ farms. The name of the farm is See Pah Leh, and the mortar shrapnel hit Saw Q---’s four cows. Two of the cows died and two were injured. The owner of the cows, Saw Q---, is 35 years old and from R--- village, Hkaw Poo village tract, Bu Tho Township. On the same night of January 4th, the SAC launched another five mortars, and they landed outside R--- village, Hkaw Poo village tract, Bu Tho Township.  

On January 16th 2022, SAC Infantry Battalion (IB)[10] #19, which is based close to K--- village, Hkaw Poo village tract, Bu Tho Township, indiscriminately fired four mortars and approximately 50 rounds of bullets from a small gun into R--- village, Hkaw Poo village tract, Bu Tho Township.  

On January 17th 2022, the same SAC troop from K--- village, Hkaw Poo village tract, Bu Tho Township, indiscriminately fired two mortar shells into a farm in P---village,  killing two cows owned by Saw N---’s father.

At around 8:00 am on January 21st 2022, BGF soldiers from Battalion #1013 and SAC soldiers who live near the road at C--- village, K’Ter Tee village tract, Dwe Lo Township, indiscriminately fired ten 60 mm mortars into Z--- village, Day Wah village tract, Bu Tho Township and the villagers were very afraid. Villagers from the nearby villages, including B--- village, Day Wah village tract, Bu Tho Township, were also very afraid. They hid inside their bunkers the whole day and did not get to eat anything.

On January 23rd 2022, SAC soldiers [battalion unidentified] and BGF soldiers from Battalion #1014 who were in Htee Th’Daw Hta village tract, Bu Tho Township threatened the villagers by firing five rounds of M79 grenades and approximately 60 rounds from a small gun. This kind of indiscriminate firing has created fear among the villagers.

On January 24th 2022, SAC soldiers who were on duty in Hpapun Town, Dwe Lo Township, indiscriminately fired mortars into Section 2 of Hpapun Town, and it [a fragment of one of the mortars] hit a 47-year-old man, N---. He [the victim] was hit on the head and in the stomach by the mortar fragment and was sent to Hpa-an Town for treatment. SAC soldiers indiscriminately fired another mortar into Section 3 of Hpapun Town on the same day, and Naw M---’s [water] well was destroyed by this shelling.

On January 29th 2022, BGF Battalion #1015, together with SAC soldiers [from an unknown battalion] began operating in an area between K’Ter Tee and K’ser Ther Pler army camps, located in Dwe Lo Township, and they indiscriminately fired mortars into Htee Law Thee Hta village, Htee Th’Bluh Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township. The attack resulted in civilian casualties, including children.

On January 30th 2022, SAC soldiers from Ler Toh army camp, in Meh Hkah Hta area [close to Chaw Moe Poo village, Hkaw Poo village tract], Bu Tho Township, fired both big and small weapons [mortars and guns] almost the whole night. 

On March 5th 2022 at 6:30 pm, seven villagers, including three children and a woman who was six-months pregnant, were killed and four villagers, including two children, were injured by mortars that SAC troops indiscriminately fired into their village, following a skirmish between the SAC and the KNLA. Fearing the escalation of SAC shelling into the village, villagers living in W--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District fled to nearby forests and feared working on their farms.[11]

SAC troops conducted reconnaissance missions and air strikes

On the afternoon of January 10th 2022, an SAC military aircraft conducted a reconnaissance mission around Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District. Local villagers were very afraid, not only in Bu Tho Township, but also in Dwe Lo Township. Some villagers went to sleep in the forest because SAC military aircraft had been conducting reconnaissance missions in the local area [of Bu Tho Township] every day and night since January 10th 2022 [and continued as of March 2022].

During the night of January 11th 2022, an SAC military aircraft dropped a bomb in Ma Htaw village, Htee Th’Bluh Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township. Some of the schools [in the area] had to close for a few days due to this activity by SAC military aircraft. It was mostly the schools with a large number of students and those that are located close to the KNU’s offices that had to close.

On January 29th 2022, an SAC military aircraft conducted a reconnaissance mission in Meh Hkah Hta area, Bu Tho Township. The researcher [providing this update] received news that the SAC were coming to drop off food for their troops in Ler Toh army camp.

Again, at around 2:15 am on January 31st 2022, the SAC conducted an airstrike at the headquarters of the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO)[12] Battalion #1 in Thee Kaw Hta village, Pah Heh village tract, Bu Tho Township. Some of the buildings and properties [villagers’ houses in Thee Kaw Hta] were destroyed, but no one was injured in this attack. Four bombs during this attack. Although the target of the air strike was not the village itself, but the KNDO headquarters inside the village, villagers [in Pah Heh village tract] were very afraid and these days, they are living in fear.

Since aircraft from the SAC have been conducting reconnaissance in the local area [Bu Tho Township] every day and night since January 2022, villagers have been living in fear. On January 29th 2022, an SAC military aircraft came to conduct a reconnaissance mission in the local area of Bu Tho Township three times.

Landmine incident

Landmine contamination in local areas has always been a major risk for the villagers living in Mu Traw District. Villagers whose livelihoods depend on working in their fields live in fear due to the presence of landmines and previous landmine incidents. [At about 2:55 pm on January 9th 2022, a villager from Meh Klaw village tract stepped on a landmine outside his village sustaining serious injuries in the explosion. Local villagers were warned by the KNLA, who had planted the landmine, about the possibility of landmine contamination in the village vicinity. However, the landmine victim needed to forage in the nearby forest to secure a livelihood for his family. Following the incident, the villager was taken to the Military Operations Command (Byu Ha) Hospital in Hpapun Town for treatment but passed away after he arrived.[13]] This kind of incident makes it difficult for the villagers to continue working in their fields and forage for vegetables in the forest to secure their livelihood.

 

 

Further background reading on the security situation and human rights abuses in Mu Traw District in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports:

Thu, 14 Jul 2022

Footnotes: 

[1] The present document is based on information received in January and March 2022. It was provided by a community member in Mu Traw 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] Border Guard Force (BGF) battalions of the Tatmadaw were established in 2010, and they are composed mostly of soldiers from former non-state armed groups, such as older constellations of the DKBA, which have formalised ceasefire agreements with the Burma/Myanmar government and agreed to transform into battalions within the Tatmadaw.

[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] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.

[5] Saw is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.

[6] The Karen National Union (KNU) is the main Karen political organisation. It was established in 1947 and has been in conflict with the Burma/Myanmar government since 1949. The KNU wields power across large areas of Southeast Burma/Myanmar and has been calling for the creation of a democratic federal system since 1976. Although it signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in 2015, relations with the government remain tense.

[7] The Karen National Liberation Army is the armed wing of the Karen National Union.

[8] A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. 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.

[9] Information about shelling and air strikes in Mu Traw District between December 2021 and February 2022 was provided by a different community member as well, and can be found in KHRG, “Mu Traw District Situation Update: Air strikes, indiscriminate shelling, displacement, landmine explosions, retaliation against civilians and arbitrary taxation, December 2021 to February 2022”, July 2022.

[10] An Infantry Battalion (IB) comprises 500 soldiers. However, most 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. They are primarily used for garrison duty but are sometimes used in offensive operations.

[12] The Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) was formed in 1947 by the Karen National Union and is the precursor to the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Today the KNDO refers to a militia force of local volunteers trained and equipped by the KNLA and incorporated into its battalion and command structure; its members wear uniforms and typically commit to two-year terms of service.

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