Type of Incident

Torture and killing

Date of Incident(s)

December 21st 2021

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

K--- village, Noh Beh Baw village tract,[2] Bilin Township, Doo Tha Htoo (Thaton) District

Victim Information

Name

Naw[3] H---

Age

56 (possibly closer to 60)

Sex

Female

Nationality

Karen

Family   

Married

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

K--- village

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

SAC and BGF soldiers

Unknown

SAC Light Infantry Division (LID)[4] Ta Ma #22, Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[5] #104 [possibly Infantry Battalion (IB)[6] #101][7]

From K’Ter Tee Town

SAC (unknown)/BGF General Bo Maung Soe

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

After KHRG received news from local villagers about the killing of a female villager, KHRG researchers interviewed three local villagers about the incident. One of the interviewees is the victim’s husband, who himself fled during the fighting.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The three interviewees are from the local community and are familiar with the incident.

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.

After local Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[8] troops in Bilin Township occupied a Border Guard Force (BGF)[9] army camp in Yo Klah on December 17th 2021, the KNLA troops stayed in the community to defend their territory [from further trespass and attack]. Some of the KNLA soldiers set up base in villagers’ huts in K--- villagers’ rubber plantations. According to one hut owner, Saw[10] M----, “I told the KNLA soldiers not to stay in my hut, but instead to go and stay in my hill farm hut [far from the village]. [I told them:] ‘If you stay here, then if they [SAC and BGF] come, they will do [commit violations against] us.’” 

The State Administration Council (SAC)[11] sent [date unknown] about 40 soldiers [according to a Karen National Union (KNU) news source, there were 60 soldiers[12]] including BGF soldiers to Yo Klah village. The SAC and BGF troops are from K’Ter Tee Town. The SAC troops[13] are from Light Infantry Division (LID) #22, Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #104 [possibly Infantry Battalion (IB) #101, see note above] and the BGF soldiers [battalion unknown] are under the command of General Bo Maung Soe [who accompanied them to Yo Klah army camp].

On December 21st 2021, the SAC and BGF troops arrived at the rubber plantation of one villager from K--- village, Noh Beh Baw village tract, Bilin Township at about 8:00 am. Since the KNLA were also in the rubber plantation, fighting broke out between the KNLA and SAC/BGF for about 30 minutes.  Two villagers, Naw H--- and her husband, were working on their planation at the time, so both of them had to flee out of fear for their life. As Naw H---’s husband, Saw M----, testified, “When we were in the rubber plantation, we heard gunfire so I told her [my wife]: ‘Dah [a Karen term of affection]!!! Run along the fence!!’ […]  I was running behind her and did not see her anymore so I thought she had run further [from the incident place]. I called her once, but she did not hear me. At that time, I heard a lot of gun sounds behind me so I could not look for her.”

Due to the security risk, Naw H---’s husband and two other villagers could not go to the incident place until 5:00 pm that evening, which is when they found Naw H---’s corpse on the ground. The local villagers believe that the SAC and BGF troops caught Naw H---, questioned her [probably about the KNLA], tortured her and then killed her in the plantation. According to one of the interviewees, Naw U---, “I think they [the SAC and BGF] tortured her before they killed her because her whole nose bone was broken. The bullet went out the back of her neck so we [villagers] think they [the SAC and BGF] forcibly put the muzzle [of the gun] into her mouth and shot her dead.” 

That same day (December 21st 2021), the SAC and BGF troops arrived at Yo Klah village and stayed in the village. On December 23rd 2021, the SAC and BGF called a meeting with Yo Klah villagers ordering villagers not to go to Yo Klah army camp yet because of the landmines planted in the area. The SAC and BGF also said that they would clear the landmines, and that they would stay in the village for several days. They bought 20 sacks of rice from Yo Klah villagers the morning of December 23rd, so villagers assume they will stay more than several days in the village.

Due to the killing case, villagers in the nearby communities are now at high security risk and do not feel secure to go to their farms and plantations anymore. Yo Klah villagers are afraid that more of this kind of incident will happen in their village so the majority of the villagers do not feel safe to return to their village yet [villagers began fleeing on December 17th 2021 after the KNLA took over the BGF army camp at Yo Klah]. Moreover, Naw H---’s family is now concerned that the SAC and BGF will commit more violations against the family so they do not feel secure to go outside of the village.

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

The three interviewees gave KHRG permission to use the information.