English
ကညီကျိာ်
မြန်မာThis incident report describes events occurring in Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. On March 15th 2023, State Administration Council (SAC) soldiers forced a village leader to organise the collection of rice from villagers living in Htaw Wah Law village tract. SAC soldiers threatened the village leader that if the villagers didn’t provide them with rice, they would shell mortars into the village. Therefore, on March 17th 2023, local villagers transported 50 bags of rice to the army camp of SAC Infantry Battalion (IB) #558. Although villagers gave rice to the SAC, SAC soldiers still shelled mortars into M--- village, Htaw Wah Law village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township. Due to the shelling, the villagers fled from their village. After the villagers fled, SAC soldiers entered the village and took some of the villager's belongings.[1]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
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Date of Incident |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
M--- village, Htaw Wah Law village tract,[2] Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. |
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Victim(s) Information |
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Name |
Saw[3] H--- |
Villagers from M--- village, K--- village, T--- village, P--- village, L--- village, and W--- village, in Htaw Wah Law village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. |
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Age |
67 years old |
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Sex |
Male |
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Ethnicity |
Karen |
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Family |
Married |
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Occupation |
Vegetable gardener |
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Religion |
Christian |
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Position |
Village leader [specific position censored for security] |
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Village |
M--- village, Htaw Wah Law village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. |
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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 |
Infantry Battalion (IB)[4] #558 |
Poe Chit Muh camp |
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 a local village leader. |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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A KHRG researcher received this information from the village leader, who experienced the incident. |
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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On March 15th 2023, SAC[4] Infantry Battalion (IB) #558 soldiers, based at Poe Chit Muh village, Htaw Wah Law village tract, Kaw T’ree Township, commanded Saw H---, [a local village leader,] to collect rice for them. Then, Saw H--- organised rice from villages in Htaw Wah Law village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. SAC soldiers also told Saw H--- that they [SAC] would shell mortars into the villages if they did not receive the rice.
On March 17th 2023, in the morning, villagers in Htaw Wah Law village tract transported 50 bags of rice to the SAC camp [of Infantry Battalion (IB) #558]. There are six villages in the Htaw Wah Law village tract, namely M--- village, K--- village, T--- village, P--- village, L--- village, and W--- village, and each village except one provided 10 bags of rice. Villagers from Htaw Wah Law village tract transported the rice with three tractors to the SAC camp. It took 20 minutes to travel from the villages to the SAC army camp by tractors. The SAC soldiers told the villagers that they would pay for the rice, but they did not pay for it.
On March 17th 2023, at about 6:00 pm, SAC soldiers [from IB #558] shelled mortars into M--- village, Htaw Wah Law village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township after villagers transported the rice to the SAC camp. The mortars landed in the village and a villager's house was damaged by the shelling. Some of the shelled mortars remained unexploded in the village.
Due to the shelling, villagers were in fear. Some of them fled to W--- village [located close to the Thai border], while others fled to their farms and huts [located far from the village, scattered on the hills]. After the villagers fled, the SAC soldiers entered M--- village and rummaged through the villagers’ houses, and some [soldiers] looted oil, rice, salt, MSG [monosodium glutamate; a flavour enhancer], and clothes from the villagers’ houses. |
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 interviewed gave permission to use this information. |
Further background reading on the situation of forced labour in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- ““Why would they target us?”: Exploring patterns of the Burma Army's retaliatory abuses against villagers across Southeast Burma ”, June 2023.
- “Doo Tha Htoo District Short Update: Forcible collection of logs in Hpa-an Township, July 2022”, May 2023.
- “Human, Not for Shield: Attack on civilians in Bilin Township, Doo Tha Htoo District, April 22nd to May 22nd 2022”, December 2022
These two photos show damages in M--- village, Htaw Wah Law village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District, after SAC IB #558 shelled mortars into the village on March 17th 2023. The photo on the left shows a villager’s betelnut tree damaged by shrapnel of mortar. The photo on the right shows a villager’s house damaged by shrapnel of mortar. [Photos: Local villager]
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in May 2023. It was provided by a community member in Dooplaya 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] Saw is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.
[4] An Infantry Battalion (IB) comprises 500 soldiers. However, most Infantry Battalions in the Burma military 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 National Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). They are primarily used for garrison duty but are sometimes used in offensive operations.
[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.
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