Type of Incident

Indiscriminate shelling by the State Administration Council (SAC)[2]

Date of Incident(s)

August 22nd and 26th 2023  

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Section B--- in Thandaunggyi Town and A--- village, Special area, in Daw Hpa Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District 

Victim Information

Name

Naw[3] C---

Naw D---

Saw[4] E---

Ma[5] Z---

Age

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

48 years

Gender

Woman

Woman

Man

Woman

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Unknown

Marital Status  

Married

Married

Married

Married

Occupation

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Religion

Christian

Christian

Christian

Unknown

Position

Villager

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

Section B---, Thandaunggyi Town

Section B---, Thandaunggyi Town

Section B---, Thandaunggyi Town

A--- village, Special area

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

 Unknown

Artillery Unit [unknown number]

Bu Yint Naung Tat Myot army camp in Thandaunggyi Town  

Unknown

Unknown

 Unknown

Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[6] #304

Yay Tar Shay Town, Bago Division

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A Karen National Union (KNU)[7] police officer from Day Loh Mu Lar Hta area, Daw Hpa Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District, informed a KHRG researcher regarding the first incident. Afterwards, on November 29th 2023, the researcher met with a local villager who witnessed the incident, and whose house was damaged in the shelling, and conducted an interview with him. The villager was in the incident place when it happened and therefore knew the details of the incident. A KHRG researcher also contacted a local villager from Daw Hpa Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District, by phone to collect information regarding the second incident.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The information is verified because the researcher gathered information from one of the victims of the first incident and other villagers from the incident location. In addition, the researcher went to the incident place to investigate what happened. For the second incident, a local villager, who had spoken with the injured victim before her death, provided the information to the KHRG researcher.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

First incident

On August 22nd 2023, at 8:30 pm, State Administration Council (SAC) soldiers indiscriminately fired three rounds of mortar shells into Thandaunggyi Town, Daw Hpa Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District. One of the mortars landed and exploded in Section B--- of Thandaunggyi Town. It damaged three villagers’ houses and the road next to the houses, which is used by villagers. The owners of these damaged houses are Naw C---, Naw D--- and Saw E---. Other mortar shells landed in areas outside the town. This SAC troop is based in an Artillery Unit at Bu Yint Naung Tat Myot army camp in Thandaunggyi Town. It seemed that the SAC fired mortar shells because they heard a mine explosion from a road in Thandaunggyi Town. Ba Yint Naung Tat Myot army camp is about a 30-minute motorbike journey from Section #B---, in Thandaunggyi Town.  

One of the owners of a house damaged by the shelling was not in Thandaunggyi when the SAC was conducting indiscriminate shelling. He was out of the town at the time and so he was not hit by the shelling. The owners of the other two damaged houses sheltered underneath their houses whilst the shelling happened. Therefore, they were also not hit by the shelling.

This SAC troop often fired rounds of mortar into Thandaunggyi Town [in August and September 2023]. It happened once every one or two weeks. Due to the SAC indiscriminate shelling [in August 22nd], villagers from Section B--- in Thandaunggyi Town were frightened and feared for their safety, but the villagers could not do anything [to stop the attacks]. No villagers were killed or injured by this shelling incident, nor were any animals [livestock] killed or injured. No schools nor churches were damaged.

Second Incident

On August 26th 2023, at around 4 pm, soldiers from SAC Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #304 indiscriminately fired three rounds of 120 mm mortars into A--- village, Special area, Daw Hpa Hkoh Township. LIB #304 is based in Yay Tar Shay Town, Bago Division [and local villagers do not know why they were in Daw Hpa Hkoh Township]. Two of the mortar shells landed next to the village. Another mortar shell landed inside A--- village, next to Ma Z---, a 48-year-old villager, whilst she was walking on a road in the village. She was hit by shrapnel from the exploded mortar shell. She sustained injuries to her stomach and [the back of her] head.

After the incident, a medic from the People’s Defence Force (PDF)[8] and a medic from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[9] provided treatment for her injuries. After that, [on the same day], she was taken to Taw Oo Hospital. The next day, on August 27th 2023, she passed away in the hospital as her injuries were [too] serious. On August 28th 2023, Ma Z---’s body was brought to A--- village and she was buried in the village cemetery. Ma Z---’s husband had passed away many years earlier and she is survived by four children. The victim’s family has not received any financial support other than a donation of 200,000 kyat [95 USD[10]] from the PDF and KNLA.

Due to this SAC shelling, some villagers’ cattle were injured and some trees were damaged. According to a local villager, the SAC often indiscriminately fired mortar shells into this village, and so many of the villagers were temporarily displaced at the time.

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

The villagers from Thandaunggyi Town and a villager who talked to Ma Z---’s family members gave KHRG permission to publish this information.