State Administration Council (SAC)[2] soldiers frightened villagers 

During the night of April 20th 2022, soldiers from SAC Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[3] #547 in T’Nay Cha army camp fired guns into the sky when they saw a light from villagers [who live around the army camp], who were hunting crickets. T’Nay Cha army camp is located in T’Nay Hsah village, T’Nay Hsah Township, Hpa-an District. When the SAC fired guns, villagers were in fear whilst they were in their beds and were highly concerned that fighting was going to take place in the community. One of the villagers who lives close to the incident place expressed that, “It happened when we were sleeping. We worried that the fighting would break out and [we] ran immediately to the bunker. Similarly, the other families also ran in fear and some of them could not bring their children with them in fear.” Villagers assumed that the SAC fired guns in order to frighten the villagers who were hunting crickets. A lot of villagers that live around the army camp do not feel secure going out at night to hunt and villagers informed other villagers to not go out and hunt at night, due to safety concerns. As the incident happened during insect hunting season, many villagers are still going out at night to hunt insects for their families. 

On April 19th 2022, the day before the incident, SAC soldiers told the heads of the villages that are located near the army camp, such as Ler Poo, Noh Hta Baw, Noh Kaw Tay, T’Nay Hsa, T’Weh Dah and other villages, that villagers should not go close to the army camp because they [the SAC] would plant landmines around their army camp. The SAC did not provide the villagers with a reason for planting the landmines. They allowed villagers to travel on the road beside the army camp. The army camp is close to the villages, so villagers’ livestock always travel around the army base for food and villagers go looking for their livestock every afternoon. Therefore, both villagers and their livestock are at high risk of [stepping on] landmines in the community. However, villagers are not sure whether the SAC actually planted the landmines, because they have not seen a signpost [that warns villagers] of the landmine contamination.

Local civilians fear forced portering by the Border Guard Force (BGF)[4]

On the morning of May 10th 2022, a large number of BGF soldiers [consisting of multiple troops] travelled from Doo Tha Htoo (Toungoo) or Mu Traw (Hpapun) District [it is unknown which district] into T’Nay Hsah Township, Hpa-an District. Villagers in T’Nay Hsah Township received information [from the news] about the BGF arresting villagers to be forced porters [in other districts like Doo Tha Htoo District[5]]. Therefore, local villagers became increasingly concerned that they were going to become forced porters for the BGF. Male villagers who live close to the vehicle road fled from their villages to escape, when they saw a large number of BGF soldiers travelling along public roads in Htoe Kaw Koe village tract[6], T’Nay Hsah Township. [Male villagers are more likely to be arrested to become forced porters.]

Further background reading on the security situation in Hpa-an District in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports:

• “Hpa-an District Situation Update: COVID-19 vaccinations, livelihood, education, and SAC activities, December 2021 to February 2022”, April 2022.
• “Hpa-an District Situation Update: the Civil Disobedience Movement, COVID-19 and education, April to June 2021”, February 2022