Doo Tha Htoo District Incident Report: SAC shelling into a village injured three villagers in Kyeh Htoh Township, October 2023

These photos were taken in October 2023, in C--- village, Nghet Pyaw Taw village tract, Kyeh Htoh Township, Doo Tha Htoo District. The photo on the left shows a villager named Naw G--- and the photo on the right shows a villager named Naw E---, who were injured by mortar shelling conducted by SAC Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #2, from Thaton Town army camp, based at Let Pan Pin temporary camp, in C--- village. [Photos: Local villager]

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

SAC shelling injured three civilians

Date of Incident(s)

October 22nd 2023

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

C--- village, Nghet Pyaw Taw village tract[2], Kyeh Htoh (Kyaikto) Township, Doo Tha Htoo (Thaton) District

Victim Information
Name	Saw[3] D---	Naw[4] E---	Naw G---
Age	41 years old	32 years old	44 years old
Gender	Man	Woman	Woman
Ethnicity	Karen	Karen	Karen
Marital Status	Married	Married	Married
Occupation	Plantation worker	Plantation worker	Plantation worker
Religion	Buddhist	Buddhist	Buddhist
Position	Villager	Villager	Villager
Village	C--- village	C--- village	C--- village

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)
Name(s)	Rank	Unit	Base	Commander’s Name
Unknown	Unknown	Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[5] #2	from Thaton Town army camp, based at Let Pan Pin temporary camp in C--- village	Unknown

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

This information was [first] notified by a local leader [position censored for security]. Then, [the KHRG researcher] went to the victims’ house, and conducted an interview with Saw D--- and Naw E---.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The information was verified by interviewing [two of] the victims themselves.

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On October 22nd 2023, at around 7 am, the State Administration Council (SAC)[6] Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #2, from Thaton Town army camp [which is based at Let Pan Pin temporary camp in C--- village] shelled 81mm mortar rounds [in the area], and [one of] the mortar shells landed in C--- village, Nghet Pyaw Taw village tract, Kyeh Htoh (Kyaikto) Township, Doo Tha Htoo District, in Karen National Union (KNU)[7]-controlled area. As the SAC shelled several rounds of mortar, a villager named Saw D--- went under his [stilt] house to hide from the mortars. At that time, one of the mortar shells exploded on the top of his house and injured Saw D---, along with two women who were hiding under the house. In total, three people sustained injuries. The names of the two injured women are Naw E--- and Naw G---.

While Naw E--- was handing out invitations [for a funeral ceremony], she heard the sound of mortar shelling, so she went to hide under Saw D---’s house and was injured along with Saw D---. Similarly, while Naw G--- was waiting for the ‘line car’ [pick-up truck, used as a shared taxi] to go to Kyaikto Town, she heard the sound of mortar shelling and went to hide under Saw D---’s house. Then, she was injured along with Naw E---.

The shrapnel from the shell hit and was embedded inside Saw D---’s right arm and broke his bone. The mortar shrapnel hit Naw E---’s right arm, but she did not sustain severe injuries. Naw G--- was injured on her head, and she sustained life-threatening injuries. These three villagers were sent [by local villagers] to the nearby hospital which is Kyaikto Hospital [run by the SAC]. However, Kyaikto hospital did not admit Saw D--- [as they were not adequately equipped to treat his injuries] and then, he was transferred to Thaton hospital [run by the SAC]. [As of January 2024,] Saw D--- had not fully recovered from the injuries yet.

While Saw D--- was being treated at the hospital, he received a total of 150,000 kyats [71.33 USD][8] in cash from [two] local humanitarian groups. After this incident, Saw D--- expressed: “It will be better if they [SAC soldiers] don’t conduct shelling like this again. Then, the villagers will live peacefully. Now, we dare not sleep as we don’t know when they will conduct shelling”. He added: “Since I was injured, I have not been able to work, and it causes challenges for my livelihood”.

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

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

The interviewees are the victims who experienced these human rights violations and they both gave permission to use the information as needed.

Further background reading on the situation on shelling in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports: