Type of Incident

Death due to indiscriminate shelling

Date of Incident(s)

September 17th 2022

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Taung Su village, Shwegyin Inn village tract[2], Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District

Victim Information

Name

Naw[3] Thoo Lei Paw

Age

43

Sex

Female

Nationality

Karen

Family   

Married

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

Taung Su village, Shwegyin Inn village tract, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

N/A

 N/A

SAC LIB #351

Nant Tha Kwin Bridge, Taung Su village, Shwegyin Inn village tract, Moo Township

Captain Zay Ya Lin

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A KHRG researcher contacted local leaders in the area, in order to get in contact with the victim’s family and travelled to meet with the victim’s family who were taking refuge in A--- village, Moo special area, Moo Township. He then conducted an interview with Saw[4] B--- who is the husband of the victim, Naw Thoo Lei Paw.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The source is the husband of the victim who visited the scene of the incident and saw the dead body at the place of the incident. Many other villagers also saw it [the scene of the incident] when they went to take the corpse to A--- village to bury it. Information in this incident report is based on these witnessed events.

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 September 17th 2022 at around 11:00 am, a displaced villager, Naw Thoo Lei Paw, from Taung Su village, Shwegyin Inn village tract, Moo Township was hit by shrapnel from a mortar fired by State Administration Council (SAC)[5] troops, when she was returning [from Taung Su village] to her site of displacement [another village]. She had gone back to Taung Su village to retrieve rice [to bring to the village she had displaced to]. She was hit by mortar shrapnel when she reached a paddy field at the entrance of the village [as she was leaving]. The shrapnel [from the mortar] hit her on her thigh, the back of the neck and foot, killing her instantly. The SAC [troop] responsible for this shelling is Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[6] #351, which [since July] has been temporarily based at Nant Thar Kwin Bridge [at the entrance of Taung Su village] and which is under the command of Captain Zay Yar Lin. Captain Zay Yar Lin is based at Ler Doh army camp.

Before this incident happened, on September 9th 2022, the SAC forced displaced villagers from Taung Su, Noh Klaw, T’Ma Hkaw and Noh Ku villages in Shwegyin Inn village tract, Moo Township and Thel Kone, Nga Pyet Inn, Nyaung Kone (Hkler Hkoh), Ain Net villages in Ain Net village tract, Ler Doh Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District. According to a community member, the SAC troops that operate in Ler Doh and Nant Thar Kwin area [and that forced these villagers to displace] are LIB #590, Infantry Battalion (IB)[7] #60 and LIB #440, along with members of the pyithusit (“people’s militia”)[8]. In Shwegyin Inn village tract alone, there are 2,056 displaced villagers. KHRG was unable to identify the number of displaced persons from Ain Net village tract. According to a villager, [on September 9th] the SAC commanded the villagers to displace, saying: “You all have to displace by today. No one should stay in the village. If anyone stays, we will fire mortars into the village.” Villagers including women, children and newborn babies had to displace.

As they were forced to suddenly displace, villagers could not carry much food with them. Therefore, some villagers [later] tried [go back to their village] to retrieve some food and check on their [plantations and] livestock. Due to the incident [the death of Naw Thoo Lei Paw], villagers are now afraid to return to the village to retrieve food and check on their plantations and livestock.

A displaced villager, Naw C--- said, “The SAC forced us to displace. So, we are facing challenges. If the SAC gave us a site to relocate to, we would go and settle there. But now [instead], they just forced us to displace randomly. We didn’t know where to stay. So, we fled to the forest. We waited until the situation calmed down a bit, and we just snuck into the village like thieves to grab some of our food. If they had seen us, they would have shot us dead or arrested us. The SAC did not allow us to return to the village, but they entered our village and looted our belongings and our food.”

The situation has made it more challenging for villagers [to survive at the displacement sites, as they fear returning to the village]. They face huge difficulties while being displaced in other people’s houses, people’s farm huts and in the forest. Villagers who took refuge in their relatives’ and friends’ houses in nearby villages have to rely on their relatives and friends. Some other villagers are displaced in the forest areas along the road from Ler Doh to Moo Township.

Some villagers displaced to Toungoo Town, Phyu Town and Kyauktaga Town located in Hpyoo (Phyu) Township [Bago Region]. Villagers are deeply concerned that they will not be able to harvest [their crops] if the situation continues. They are most concerned about potential food shortages in the coming year. Even though they were able to rely on their relatives and friends this year, they are highly concerned about potential food shortages [as they will not be able to produce crops this year]. A woman said, “We farm [to earn a living]. The paddy crops are not good because of unexpected rain this year. Moreover, the cattle were released [and are roaming freely] all over the village due to [the] forced displacement [of villagers]. Therefore, we are concerned about food shortages in the coming year.”

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

The husband of the victim granted KHRG permission to use this information.