Type of Incident

Indiscriminate shelling resulting in injuries

Date of Incident(s)

March 26th 2021

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Kaw Nweh village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District

Victim Information

Name

Saw[4] H---

Saw Y---

Age

45

5

Sex

Male

Male

Nationality

Karen

Karen

Family   

Married

-

Religion

Buddhist

Buddhist

Village

A--- village, Kaw Nweh village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District

A--- village, Kaw Nweh village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District

Perpetrator Information (Armed actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s name

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A KHRG researcher interviewed one of the victims, as well as the local village tract administrator.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

 The victim experienced this incident first hand.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On March 26th 2021, at 8:30 pm, two villagers were injured in a mortar explosion in A--- village, Kaw Nweh village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. On that evening, local villagers were cutting cow meat together in the same house. They heard the whistling sound of mortar shells flying towards the village while they were returning to their respective houses [after which they took shelter].

Saw H---, a local 45-year-old villager, first heard the sound of a mortar explosion when he was inside his old [wooden] house. He immediately grabbed his five-year-old son, Saw Y---, and ran to his newly-built cement house to take shelter [both houses are located in the same yard]. However, a mortar shell fell in his yard and exploded at approximately five feet [1.5 metres] away from them. Saw Y--- sustained light shrapnel injuries on his left leg, while Saw H--- sustained more serious injuries above his right knee.

Saw H--- recounted the incident to KHRG: “We were at my old house. When we heard the explosion, we ran to my new house. The two houses are only within a few seconds of each other. When we were running towards the new house, we were hit by shrapnel. […] I was able to run to the doorstep [of the new house] while my blood was still warm. After my blood cooled down, I could not run anymore [he only started feeling pain after reaching the new house]. I carried my son in my arms until I reached the doorstep.”

The shrapnel tore a hole in Saw H---’s leg, causing him to bleed. He and his son were taken to the Taw Naw [Karen Department of Health and Welfare][5] hospital by car right after the incident. According to the local village tract administrator: “Yes, the incident happened at night time. We tried to find a car but the car owners [local villagers] were too concerned for their security to travel. We eventually found [another] car [driver] and then took the injured persons to the Taw Naw hospital.” Saw H--- got 17 stitches on his right thigh. His son did not require stitches, but medicine was applied to his wounds. They still have to undergo medical check-ups and change their dressing at the hospital regularly.

Local villagers do not know for sure who fired the mortar shells, but Saw H--- thinks it was Tatmadaw soldiers: “I don’t think the Karen [Karen National Liberation Army - KNLA][6] soldiers did it. It must have been the Tatmadaw because the mortar sounds came from the lower side of the village [an area where Tatmadaw soldiers are usually active].”[7] Saw H--- also said that the explosion caused a hole in the ground in front of his house. According to him, the type of ordnance used was a 60 mm mortar shell.

At the moment, there is only a KNLA camp near the village. There used to be a Tatmadaw camp too, but the troops manning it left a few years ago – although Tatmadaw soldiers continue to patrol the area. There is a Tatmadaw base in Kawkareik Town. Due to the tense political situation [aftermath of the February 1st 2021 military coup],[8] local villagers are concerned for their security and worried that fighting [between the KNLA and the Tatmadaw] might resume. Therefore, they dug holes under their houses so they can take cover whenever shelling or fighting occurs. Villagers who are assuming leading roles within the Civil Disobedience Movement[9] have stopped sleeping in their houses [to evade arrest]. Some of them sleep in a hammock in the forest while others sleep in other people’s houses.

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

The victim gave KHRG permission to use this information.