Fighting and displacement
On September 6th 2022, State Administration Council (SAC)[2] soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[3] #599 and Infantry Battalion (IB)[4] #590 and #48 left Paw Khay Hkoh (also known locally as Paw Hseh Hkoh) army camp in Mu Traw (Hpapun) District to return to their base in Kheh Der village tract[5] and Kwee Lah village tract in Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District. On September 7th 2022, villagers from Theh Hkee village, Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township, saw them [SAC soldiers] when they were on their way to their plantations. After seeing the SAC soldiers, these villagers went back to the village and informed other villagers, village leaders, and soldiers of the Karen National Defence Organization (KNDO)[6]. After KNDO soldiers were informed about the presence of SAC soldiers in the area, they went to conduct a security check for villagers in Htoo Hta and Theh Hkee villages, both located in Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township. However, [prior to the security check] villagers from Theh Hkee and Htoo Hta villages fled from their villages as soon as they were informed [by villagers that SAC soldiers were in the area].
Lately [at the time of reporting], SAC soldiers have not been active on the main road in Muh Theh village, Kheh Ka Hkoh village tract, Ler Doh Township, like they had been in the past [prior to the military coup], but instead more active in more remote areas [further from the road]. Due to new troop movement in these areas, villagers from some villages in Kheh Der village tract and Kwee Lah village tract have been displaced from their village [during this reporting period]. On September 8th 2022, villagers from Muh Hkee, Doh Daw Hkee, Kheh Der, Day Baw Hkee, Khaw Htaw Hkee villages in Kheh Der village tract, and Poh Khoh Der village in Kwee Lah village tract, Ler Doh Township, fled from their villages because SAC soldiers who returned from Paw Khay Hkoh army camp in Mu Traw District did not use the main road through Mu Theh village but used the road in the forest that passes through [these other] villages. Moreover, schools run by Karen Education and Cultural Department (KECD)[7] in Kheh Der village tract had to close down, and villagers from Kheh Der village tract and Kwee Lah village tract have faced transportation and livelihood challenges.
SAC troops [from LIB #599 and IB #590 and #48] had been conducting military operations in Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township since September 7th 2022. From September 7th, they were stationed at a place called Ler Wah Hkoh in Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township and were still there as of September 16th 2022. On September 9th 2022, villagers from Muh Hkee village, Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township were conducting security checks [in the areas surrounding their village], when the same SAC troops [LIB #599 and IB #590 and #48] fired at them. No villagers were injured. On September 10th 2022, SAC soldiers from the same troops shot dead a buffalo outside of Muh Hkee village that was owned by Muh Hkee’s village head, Saw[8] A---. On September 11th 2022, an armed clash broke out between these SAC troops and KNDO soldiers from Battalion #3 headquarters near Muh Hkee village, Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township. In retaliation, SAC soldiers fired mortar shells towards the KNDO headquarters [in Kler Lwee Htoo District] and Muh Hkee village.
On September 13th 2022, villagers from Peh Wah Der village, Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township, and villagers from Law Muh Per village, Law Muh Per village tract, Ler Doh Township fled from their village because they received the news that the SAC troops [LIB #599 and IB #590 and #48] had a plan to go to their village. On September 14th 2022, villagers from Khoh Loo village, Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township, also had to flee from their village because these SAC troops were heading towards their village from Ler Wah Hkoh, Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township. They remain displaced and are seeking refuge in a nearby village in Law Muh Thaw village tract, Ler Doh Township.
Throughout the reporting period, since these SAC troops [LIB #599 and IB #590 and #48] left Paw Khay Hkoh army camp [in Mu Traw District], fighting happened between them and soldiers from KNDO Battalion #3 and Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[9] Battalion #7, #8 and #9. Therefore, they [SAC soldiers] faced difficulty returning to their place [unidentified]. At 7:20 am on September 14th 2022, SAC soldiers from Light Infantry Division (LID)[10] #77 from Baw K’Hta army camp which is located outside of P’Deh Kaw village, P’Deh Kaw village tract, Ler Doh Township, were deployed to Ler Wah Hkoh [in Kheh Der village tract] for troop reinforcement because soldiers from LIB #599 and IB #590 and #48 [who were already at Ler Wah Hkoh] suffered high casualties. LID #77 also faced high casualties and their soldiers who were injured were sent back to Baw K’Hta army camp in Baw K’Hta village tract, Ler Doh Township. However, some of the soldiers remained in Ler Wah Hkoh. The commander of LID #77 is Min Tin, who is currently based in Ler Doh Town. This fighting happened more than 15 times throughout the reporting period. Local villagers have been displaced because of the fighting. The difficulties that displaced villagers have been facing include healthcare issues, food shortages and livelihood challenges.
Air strikes
At 9:10 am on July 29th 2022, an SAC military jet [specific number of military jets is unknown] conducted air strikes in a place called Thaw Too Day, where [KNLA] Battalion #9 operates, and in Kwee Doh, Law Muh Per village tract, Ler Doh Township, where people who participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)[11] were staying. On the same day, air strikes were also conducted in a place near Ler Peh Deh, Law Muh Per village tract, Ler Doh Township where displaced villagers stayed. The air strikes hit a big hall that belongs to KNLA Battalion #9. As a result of the air strikes, fear and worry has increased among local villagers, and displaced villagers in Law Muh Per village tract had to move to another place. The air strikes happened at the border of Law Muh Per village tract and Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township. The fighter jets that came and conducted the air strikes returned to their place [base] after conducting the air strikes in these three different places [Thaw Too Day, Kwee Doh and Ler Peh Deh]. However, at 4:25 pm on the same day, SAC military jets came back again to conduct reconnaissance.
At 10:15 am on August 8th 2022, two SAC helicopters conducted air strikes in an area between Peh Thaw village and Lay Pay village in Kyauk S’Yit village tract, Ler Doh Township. The air strikes resulted damage to villagers’ houses, their gardens and plantations. After the helicopters conducted five rounds of air strikes in the area, soldiers from [KNLA] Battalion #9 fired at them and smoke came out of one of the [SAC] helicopters. As a result, the helicopters left and landed in the school compound in K’Nyin Kyo village, Kyauk T'Gan Township [in Kler Lwee Htoo District but outside of KHRG’s operational area], located on the other side of the P’Reh Loh River. The village is under SAC administration.
On September 14th 2022, two SAC military jets conducted reconnaissance in Kheh Der village tract and Kwee Lah village tract, Ler Doh Township nine times from 11 am to 12:20 pm. Then, at around 4:15 pm on September 14th 2022, two SAC fighter jets conducted an air strike in Ler Bah near Khoh Loo village, Kheh Der village tract, Ler Doh Township. Villagers from Day Baw Hkee, Kheh Der, Htoo Hta, Theh Hkee, Khaw Htaw Hkee, Doh Daw Hkee, Muh Hkee, Khoh Loo, Peh Wah Der villages in Kheh Der village tract; Poh Khoh Der village in Kwee Lah village tract; and Law Muh Thaw village in Law Muh Thaw village tract, Ler Doh Township have been displaced because of the air strikes and are still not able to return to their village [at the time of reporting]. In total, there are 1,311 displaced villagers from 11 villages. Displaced villagers have been faced with many difficulties, including food insecurity, as it is currently the rainy season.
SAC indiscriminate shelling
At 5:05 am on August 7th 2022, SAC troops [battalion number unknown] based in Doh Dah village, Kyauk T’Gan Township, which is located on the other side of P’Reh Loh River [close to K’Nyin Kyo village, Kyauk T’Gan Township], fired four mortars into Lay Pay village, Kyauk S’Yit village tract, Ler Doh Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District. Three of the mortar shells landed inside the village and the other one landed at the entrance of the village. Shrapnel from one of the mortar shells injured a 21-year-old villager, Naw[12] B---. The shrapnel entered Naw B---’s house through a hole in the wall and hit her. Naw B--- was injured by fragments of the mortar shells on the right side of her neck. Lay Pay villagers displaced to C--- village, Noh Ghaw village tract, Ler Doh Township. Here [at the displacement site], Naw B--- was treated by Free Burma Ranger (FBR)[13] medics. Naw B--- has recovered, and Lay Pay villagers have now [as of November 2022] returned to their village.
Further background reading on the situation regarding SAC activities in Kler Lwee Htoo District in Southeast Burma can be found in the following KHRG reports: