Type of Incident

Shelling resulting in injuries

Date of Incident(s)

June 2nd 2020

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

C--- Village, Lay Poe Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District

Victims Information

Name

Saw[4] L---

Naw[5] S---

Age

57

13

Sex

Male

Female

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Family   

Married

Single

Occupation

Hill Farmer

-

Religion

Buddhist

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Villager

Village

C---

C---

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)          

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

N/A

Captain

LIB #405, MOC #8

Maw Lo Klo

Hlaing Htun (LIB Commander)

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

[The KHRG researcher interviewed one of the victims, Saw L---. The name of the Commander of the Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion #405 was provided by the KNLA.]                                                   

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The source experienced this incident first hand.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On Tuesday June 2nd 2020 at 3 pm, a father and his daughter were injured [by a mortar shell fired by the Tatmadaw] in C--- village, Lay Poe Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District.

On that day, fighting broke out between KNLA soldiers from Battalion #102, Company #3 and the Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion #405, Military Operations Command #8, near the Maw Lo Klo army camp. The Tatmadaw fired a mortar shell into C--- village, injuring 57-year-old Saw L--- and his 13-year-old daughter, Naw S--- [Saw L--- sustained an injury in his left upper thigh, while Naw S--- was injured on the right side of her abdomen].

[The Maw Lo Klo army camp is under the authority of LIB Commander Hlaing Htun]. He is the commander there and his soldiers are only supposed to fire their guns or mortars in war zones and practice areas. They violated the rights of the villagers when they fired the mortar shell into the village.

They [the Tatmadaw] did not take responsibility for the consequences [of the shelling] and they did not pay for the medical costs. After the father and his daughter got injured, the village head wanted to send them to K'Ma Moh hospital but they refused because they could not afford the medical costs. Therefore, the village head borrowed 30,000 kyats [USD 21.65][6] from Bo Maung Chit's[7] wife to send the victims [to the hospital]. They were sent to the hospital on June 2nd and they came back home on June 8th. They [now] have to undergo a weekly medical check-up.

The incident happened because the Tatmadaw did not follow the NCA Code of Conduct[8] and trespassed into the restricted areas [territory controlled by the Karen National Union][9] many times [without prior authorisation, in violation of section 10(B) of the Code of Conduct]. During that period, the KNU was taking measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Mu Traw District. Therefore, it [the multiple instances of trespassing] caused tensions between the two armed actors [Tatmadaw and KNLA]. The Tatmadaw also forced the Karen [KNU] health workers and the KNPF [Karen National Police Force][10] to leave the [COVID-19] screening checkpoints, which led to armed conflict [between the KNLA and the Tatmadaw].[11]

The villagers do not have any strategy to protect themselves from these kinds of incidents. There were tensions and dissatisfaction between the two groups [Tatmadaw and KNLA], so they started firing at each other. The villagers did not know about or understand the case, so they do not know how to respond to this situation.

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

Saw L--- [the victim] gave KHRG permission to use this information.