This Incident Report describes events occurring in Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw (Hpapun) District, in December 2025. On 12 December 2025, a Burma Army fighter jet dropped two 500-pound bombs onto Tz--- village, Bu Ah Der village tract, even though there was no fighting in the area or armed resistance fighters in the village. Simultaneously, the Burma Army also launched two kamikaze drones at the village. As a result, a four-year-old girl was killed and 12 villagers, including two children, were injured. The injured villagers travelled on foot and by boat to Ck--- Hospital for treatment. As a consequence of the air strikes, villagers from Tz--- village no longer dared to live in the village and sought refuge near a river, in forests, on plantations, and in farm huts.[1]

 

 

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

[Air strike.] [The Burma Army[2]] dropped bombs by aircraft [and launched kamikaze drones on a village].

Date of Incident(s)

12 December 2025

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Tz--- village, Bu Ah Der village tract,[3] Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District.

Victim Information (Deceased)

Name         

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

Marital Status

Occupation

Religion

Position

Village

Naw[4]  Q---

4

Girl

Karen

-

Student

-

Villager

Tz--- village, Bu Ah Der village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District

Victim Information (Injured)

Name         

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

Marital Status

Occupation

Religion

Position

Village

Saw[5] Z--- 

49

 Man

Karen

Married

 Farmer

Animist

Villager

Tz--- village, Bu Ah Der village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District

Naw L---

74

Woman

Karen

Married

Farmer

Animist

Villager

Tz--- village

Saw K---

38

Man

Karen

 

 

Married

Farmer

Buddhist

Villager

Tz--- village

Naw T---

34

Woman

Karen

Married

Farmer

Buddhist

Villager

Tz--- village

Saw Y---

26

Man

Karen

Married

Farmer

Buddhist

Villager

Tz--- village

Naw B---

31

Woman

Karen

Married

Farmer

Buddhist

Villager

Tz--- village

Naw J---

24

Woman

Karen

Married

Farmer

Buddhist

Villager

Tz--- village

Naw M---

49

Woman

Karen

Married

Farmer

Animist

Villager

Tz--- village

Naw N---

6

Girl

Karen

-

-

-

Villager

Tz--- village

Saw R---

4

Boy

Karen

-

-

-

Villager

Tz--- village

Saw G---

64

Man

Karen

Married

Farmer

Buddhist

Villager

Tz--- village

Saw

I---

39

Man

Karen

Married

Farmer

Buddhist

Villager

Tz--- village

Perpetrator Information (Air Force Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Burma [Army] Air Force

N/A

[General Htun Aung serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Burma Army Air Force]

 

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

Regarding the incident, I [a KHRG researcher] went to the incident place and documented the information by myself. It was not easy for me to conduct interviews at the time of the incident, so I went back to conduct interviews later the following month. 

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

People who provided me [the KHRG researcher] the information are victims and family members of the victims. They witnessed the incident. They helped transport the victims to the hospital after the incident. [The KHRG researcher interviewed victims, named Saw Z--- and Naw L---, and family members of victims, named Saw A---, and Saw C---, to receive this information].

 

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On 12 December 2025, at approximately 10 pm, the Burma Army Air Force carried out air strikes on Tz--- village, Bu Ah Der village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw (Hpapun) District. A fighter jet dropped two 500-pound bombs, and at the same time, the Burma Army also launched two kamikaze drones at the village. A child named Naw Q---, aged four years and ten months, was hit on the back by shrapnel from the explosion of one of the fighter jet’s bombs and was killed on the spot. In addition, the following 12 villagers were injured:

 

  • Saw G--- (64 years old) was injured on his head;
  • Saw I--- (39 years old) was injured on his buttocks;
  • Saw Y--- (26 years old) [nature of injury unknown];
  • Naw B--- (31 years old) [nature of injury unknown];
  • Naw N--- (six years old) [nature of injury unknown];
  • Naw J--- (24 years old) [nature of injury unknown];
  • Naw M--- (49 years old) [nature of injury unknown];
  • Naw L--- (74 years old) [nature of injury unknown];
  • Saw K--- (38 years old) [nature of injury unknown];
  • Saw R--- (four years old) was injured on his head;
  • Saw Z--- (49 years old) [nature of injury unknown]; and
  • Naw T--- (34 years old) [nature of injury unknown].

 

 

Tz--- village is a small village with approximately 25 households. The houses are simple structures built primarily from bamboo and roofed with leaves. There were no houses constructed with wood or roofed with zinc sheets in the village. [The village’s buildings were visibly residential.]

 

According to local villagers, there were no Kaw Thoo Lei[6] soldiers [in this context, referring to soldiers from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[7] or the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO)[8]] in or near Tz--- village at the time of the air strikes, and no armed clashes were taking place in the area. Fighting had only occurred near a bridge along the Hpapun Road, which was located far away from the village where the air strikes were conducted. Villagers were therefore unable to identify any military objective that could have justified the attack.

 

After the incident, villagers assisted one another and [those who were not injured] carried those who were injured to a hidden [safer] place. Moreover, some villagers transported injured villagers to the Ck--- Hospital located in Nk--- village, Htee Ler Poo village tract, Bu Tho Township, administered by the KDHW [Karen Department of Health and Welfare][9] for treatment, while others checked damaged houses and searched for survivors. On their journey to the hospital, they had to walk from Tz--- village to Zy--- Salween shore [on the Salween riverbank at Zy--- place], then sail by motorboat to Ck--- Hospital. Local authorities from the KNU [Karen National Union][10] and the KNDO organised the boat transportation for them. [Villagers who were treated at Ck--- Hospital recovered and returned to their families following the incident.] Meanwhile, some villagers who were not injured contacted their neighbours [villagers from other nearby villages to inform them about the incident].

 

After the air strikes, the Burma Army conducted air reconnaissance over the village [Tz--- village] every day. [The reconnaissance occurred during the day, night, or both, and as of January 2026 was still continuing.] Therefore, since 12 December 2025, and until now [January 2026], villagers were afraid and no longer dared to stay in their village. Villagers fled to the source of a river, and some fled to forests for safety. Also, some villagers had built farm huts and prepared [stored] food in them as a precaution before the incident in their village. [Following the air strikes, some villagers also fled to these farm huts, and some fled to their plantations for safety.]

 

[As of January 2026,] villagers from Tz--- village had not yet dared return to their homes and were facing livelihood challenges. Also, teachers and students did not dare to study in the school in the village, so they studied in a forest.

 

The incident also caused serious fear for some women, including some who were postpartum. It affected their mental health, and some were traumatised by what they had experienced [for example, they ran whenever they heard sounds similar to those of aircraft].  

 

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

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

The victims [and their interviewed family members] allowed us [KHRG] to use this information. They also allowed us to share this information with United Nations organisations to help reduce these human rights violations.

 

 

                    

 

Further background reading on the situation of air strikes in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:

Tue, 01 Sep 2026

Footnotes: 

[1] The present document is based on information received in January 2026. It was provided by a community member in Mu Traw District who has been trained by KHRG as a researcher 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. This document combines several received reports with the following KHRG internal log numbers: #26-37-I1; #26-37-I2; #26-37-I3; #26-37-I4; #26-37-M1; and #26-37-P1.

[2] The terms Burma military, Burma Army, SAC, Tatmadaw, and junta are used interchangeably throughout this report to describe the Burma military regime’s armed forces. Villagers themselves commonly use Burma Army, Burmese soldiers, or alternatively the name adopted by the Burma military regime at the time —from the 2021 coup to July 2025, the State Administration Council (SAC). On 31 July 2025, the military junta changed its name to the State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC).

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

[4] ‘Naw’ is a S’gaw Karen female honorific title used before a person’s name.

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

[6] The term Kaw Thoo Lei refers to Karen State as demarcated by the Karen National Union (KNU), but the exact meaning and etymology is disputed; see: Jonathan Falla. True Love and Bartholomew: Rebels on the Burmese Border, Cambridge University Press: 1991.

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

[8] 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.

[9] The Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) is the health department of the Karen National Union. It was established in 1956 to address the lack of public healthcare resources in rural Southeast Myanmar. It currently operates a network of community-based clinics in the region, but its capabilities remain limited due to funding constraints.

[10] The Karen National Union (KNU) is the main Karen political organisation. It was established in 1947 and has been in conflict with the government since 1949. The KNU wields power across large areas of Southeast Myanmar and has been calling for the creation of a democratic federal system since 1976. Although it signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, following the 2021 coup staged by Burma Army leaders, the KNU officially stated that the NCA has become void.

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