Type of Incident

Indiscriminate shelling

Date of Incident(s)

June 17th 2023

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Sin Pin Gyi village tract,[2] Daw Hpa Khoh Township, Taw Oo District

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] B---

Naw[4] C---

Age

38

62

Sex

Male

Female

Nationality

Karen

Karen

Family   

Married

Married

Occupation

Hill plantation worker

Hill plantation worker

Religion

Christian

Christian

Position

Village security guard

Villager

Village

A--- village

A--- village

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[5] #592, under Military Operations Command (MOC)[6] #20

Army camp near A--- village

Captain Soe Win

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A villager from Taw Oo District, who had previously attended a Village Agency Workshop (VAW)[7] conducted by KHRG, informed a KHRG staff member regarding this shelling case. The villager shared a contact number of the victim (Saw B---) with KHRG. In order to get to know more about this incident, a KHRG staff member called the victim over the phone and interviewed him.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The information provider is a victim of the shelling. He experienced and witnessed 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.

On the morning of June 17th 2023, Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[8] soldiers attacked a State Administration Council (SAC)[9] army camp near A--- village, Sin Pin Gyi village tract, Daw Hpa Khoh Township, Taw Oo District, and fighting occurred. Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #592, which is under Military Operations Command (MOC) #20, is based in this army camp [near A--- village]. In response, on June 17th 2023, at around 8:00 am, SAC soldiers [from LIB #592] indiscriminately fired mortar shells into A--- village. As a result, one villager was seriously injured and another villager died. In addition, the mortar shelling damaged one house, owned by the injured villager. The injured villager is Saw B---, who is 38 years old. He is survived by a daughter and a wife. The deceased villager is Naw C---, who was 62 years old. Naw C--- was Saw B---’s mother-in-law.

When the SAC fired mortar shells, Saw B--- and Naw C--- were together in their house. Saw B---’s wife and daughter were in Toungoo Town, Daw Hpa Khoh Township at that time. The SAC fired more than ten rounds of mortar shells into the village. According to Saw B---, the SAC fired 40 mm or 60 mm mortars. Many mortar shells landed and exploded near Saw B---’s house. One mortar shell landed and exploded in the kitchen of his house. Due to the explosion, Saw B--- and his mother-in-law were hit by the shrapnel. The shrapnel hit Naw C---’s chest and head and she died on the spot. Saw B--- was seriously injured all over his body. The shrapnel was embedded in his body, including his lower leg, thigh and arm. Two small pieces of shrapnel were also embedded in his left eye. Due to this eye injury, he can no longer see.

After the shelling on June 17th 2023, Saw B--- was sent to Toungoo Hospital, in Toungoo Town, to get medical treatment. All the medical costs, including the transportation cost, were around 2 million kyat [952 USD].[10] He had to pay this medical cost without receiving any financial support. At Toungoo Hospital, the doctor lacked capacity to remove the shrapnel in his body. Therefore, the doctor suggested that he should go to get medical treatment and surgery in a hospital in Yangon. His mother-in-law was buried on June 18th 2023. When she was buried, Saw B--- could not go to her funeral because he was hospitalised in Toungoo Hospital.

Captain Soe Win, who is based in the SAC army camp near A---’s village, was attending a worship service in A--- village whilst his soldiers were firing mortar shells into the village. He later found out that Saw B--- was seriously injured by the shelling and that his mother-in-law passed away. On June 18th 2023, he went to see [A---’s] village head and told him that his soldiers had made a mistake regarding this incident. So, he apologised to the village head for what his soldiers had done. However, he did not provide any compensation for the victim and his family members. He did not take any action or give punishment to his soldiers either. 

Due to the shelling, only Saw B---’s house was damaged in the village. The roof of his house and his kitchen were damaged. As of July 2023, other villagers already repaired his damaged roof and kitchen. 

Saw B--- let his wife know what happened to him but he did not let his daughter know about what happened to him and her grandmother because his daughter has a congenital heart disease [and would therefore be sensitive to shock].  Due to his severe injuries, Saw B--- can no longer work to support his family’s livelihood. He told KHRG: “I think I cannot work well anymore like before. One of my legs was injured and I cannot walk well. The shrapnel were embedded in my thigh and arm. A doctor said that they cannot remove them. As I am a plantation worker, I think I won’t be able to work like before. Due to my eye injury, I cannot see things anymore [from one eye]. My leg and arm were also injured. How can I work well like before? I think I cannot do heavy work anymore.”

[On July 13th 2023, Saw B--- travelled to Yangon to undergo further surgery on his eye to fix nerve damage. As of July 18th 2023, he is currently waiting for surgery on his eye. The medical cost of this surgery is at least 3 million kyat [1,428 USD], as explained by the eye surgeon. In addition, he will need to get further treatment to remove the shrapnel embedded in his body in another hospital.]

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

The victim gave KHRG permission to use and publish the information.