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Print:This Incident Report describes events occurring in Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District, in August 2024. On August 27th 2024, State Administration Council (SAC) soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #351 based in Lei Pat village, Don Don village tract, arrested a 54-year-old man from Aa--- village, Yay Leh village tract, and a 40-year-old man from Bb--- village, Yay Leh village tract, when they were both grazing their cows and buffalos in a farmland which is near Lei Pat village. The two villagers did not return home after going to this area where LIB #351 operates, so villagers assume they were arrested by the SAC soldiers. The villagers’ bags and livestock were found in the farmlands. Family members and villagers were not formally notified of the reason for arrest, nor of their location or condition during detention. After these two men were forcibly disappeared, their families encountered many problems to work and secure their livelihood and provide for their children. After this incident, villagers fear to travel long distances for their livelihoods.[1]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
[Enforced disappearance.] SAC [State Administration Council][2] soldiers arrested and disappeared villagers |
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Date of Incident(s) |
August 27th 2024 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
[Farmlands near] Lei Pat village, Don Don village tract[3], Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District |
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Name |
Saw[4] A--- |
Saw B--- |
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Age |
54 years old |
40 years old |
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Gender |
Man |
Man |
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Ethnicity |
Karen |
Karen |
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Marital Status |
Married |
Married |
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Occupation |
Daily wage labourer |
Daily wage labourer |
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Religion |
Christian |
Christian |
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Position |
Villager |
Villager |
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Village |
Aa--- village, Yay Leh village tract, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District. |
Bb--- village, Yay Leh village tract, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo 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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SAC [State Administration Council] |
Unknown |
LIB [Light Infantry Battalion][5] #351 |
Ler Doh Town / [currently encamped at] Lei Pat village, Don Don village tract, Moo Township. |
Unknown |
Part 2 - Information Quality
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1. Explain in detail how this information was collected. |
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The head of the ‘Emergency Relief Committee’, in Moo’s Township, under the KNU [Karen National Union][6], named Saw C---, informed [the KHRG researcher] about this incident. Then, on September 2nd 2024, [the KHRG researcher] met with the victims’ families and conducted interviews in person. |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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This information was provided by the victims’ wives [named Naw[7] D--- and Naw E---]. They knew the incident occurred because their husbands went to a place near Lei Pat village, Don Don village tract, for grazing cows and buffalos, but later they did not return home. Thus, they [Naw D--- and Naw E---] believed that they [their husbands] were arrested by SAC soldiers. |
Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident
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Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. |
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On August 27th 2024, a villager named Saw B--- and a villager named Saw A--- were arrested by SAC [State Administration Council] soldiers from LIB [Light Infantry Battalion] #351 (based in Lei Pat village, Don Don village tract, Moo Township) when they both went to a farm which is near Lei Pat village for grazing their cows and buffalos.
Saw A--- is from Aa--- village, and Saw B--- is from Bb--- village, both villages are located in Yay Leh village tract, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District. They are daily workers and every day they met and went to the farmlands for their cows and buffalos to graze. Saw A--- was pasturing his cows and Saw B--- was pasturing his buffalos. The place where their cows and buffaloes were grazing is located near Lei Pat village, where SAC soldiers are based in and patrol around.
On August 27th 2024, Monday, at around 9 am, both of them [Saw A--- and Saw B---] disappeared. No reason [was given] when they did not return back to their homes. The victims’ families tried to look for them, but they were not found: only their bags, cows and buffalos remained in the place [in the farmland next to Lei Pat village]. The families and villagers asked [around] for these two people, but no one knew if the SAC [arrested them or if the SAC] killed them. The victims’ families believe that they [Saw A--- and Saw B---] were captured by the SAC as they [victims’ families] know that if anyone goes to places near Lei Pat village, they would certainly be captured or arrested by SAC soldiers. These two people have been disappeared for one week, and were not found and did not return home [as of September 2024].
Saw A---’s wife, named Naw E---, explained: “I told him [Saw A---] ‘don’t go to that place for grazing your cows because it is near Lei Pat village, where Burmese [Burma Army] soldiers live’, but he didn’t listen to me and later he went [there]. So, I could not do anything about his disappearance.” Although he [Saw A---] was warned by his wife not to go to that place, he decided to go [there] because there are not many places with enough grass for cows to graze since places were flooded.
Saw B---’s and Saw A---’s families feel worried about them due to their disappearance. Their families also do not know how they were treated [by SAC soldiers when arrested]. Saw B--- has five children; the oldest one is 21 years old and the youngest one is 13 years old. His children cannot go to school anymore because the situation has escalated [become more difficult and the family could not support the children’s schooling since his disappearance].
Due to this kind of SAC violation, villagers who [usually have to] travel and work close to the SAC army camp in Lei Pat village dare not travel [there] anymore. They also dare not to travel long distances for their livelihoods, such as going to their workplaces. |
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 victims’ families allowed KHRG to publish this information, but they want it [the information] to be published following KHRG’s way [with censoring for their security]. |
Further background reading on the situation of enforced disappearances in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- “Taw Oo District Incident Report: SAC soldiers arbitrarily arrested and forcibly disappeared three villagers in Htaw Ta Htoo Township (April and August 2023)”, November 2024.
- “Mergui-Tavoy District Incident Report: Arbitrary arrest and killing of a villager by the SAC in K’Ser Doh Township, October 2023”, March 2024.
- In the Dark - The crime of enforced disappearance and its impacts on the rural communities of Southeast Burma since the 2021 coup, November 2023.
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in September 2024. It was provided by a community member in Kler Lwee Htoo 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] 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.
[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] ‘Saw’ is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.
[5] A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. Most Light Infantry Battalions in the Tatmadaw 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 NCA. LIBs are primarily used for offensive operations, but they are sometimes used for garrison duties.
[6] 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.
[7] ‘Naw’ is a S’gaw Karen female honorific title used before a person’s name.
