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These photos were taken in May 2024 in C--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, Tha Htoo Township, Doo Tha Htoo District. The left photo shows a married couple who were killed by shrapnel of SAC indiscriminate shelling on May 11th and the right photo shows one of the seven injured villagers. [Photos: KHRG]
SAC shelling caused casualties and property destruction
Fighting broke out between the State Administration Council (SAC)[2] and local resistance Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[3] combined with People Defence Force (PDF)[4] at an SAC army camp beside T’Peh Koh (Kyon Aeik) Bridge (located in Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, Bilin Township, Doo Tha Htoo District), lasting the whole night of 10th May to the morning of 11th May 2024. In the early morning of May 11th, the SAC withdrew from their army camp. Then, the KNLA and PDF destroyed the [T’Peh Koh] bridge, claiming that the SAC were using the bridge for their military operations in Doo Tha Htoo District. In response, the SAC Artillery Unit #314 based in Kya T’Raw (Zi Won), Shwe Yaung Pya village tract, shelled mortar rounds into villages around the area including A---, B---, C---, D--- and E--- villages, as well as many others in Shwe Yaw Pya village tract[5].
Mortar explosions [shelled by the SAC] killed two villagers, injured seven villagers, and destroyed 16 houses in C--- village. The two villagers who were killed by mortar shrapnel were Naw[6] Mya Thein (48 years old) and Saw[7] Zaw Min Htun (48 years old). The seven injured villagers were Naw F--- (42 years old) slightly injured on her neck; Naw G--- (52 years old), injured on her right thigh; Naw H--- (50 years old), slightly injured on her upper back and hip; Saw I--- (73 years old), slightly injured on his right elbow; Naw J--- (11 years old), slightly injured on her right elbow; Naw K--- (4 years old), slightly injured on her right elbow; and Naw L--- (5 years old), slightly injured on her right arm. Two women were also injured in B--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, one of whom was pregnant. [The names of the two injured villagers in B--- village are unknown.]
The two villagers who were killed by SAC mortar explosions in C--- village were a married couple. Their two young daughters, who are around 10 years old and three years old, are now orphans. The incident happened when the family was running from their house to a nearby bunker. One mortar shell landed after their daughters had reached the bunker but before the parents had entered the bunker. Shrapnel killed both of them immediately. One of the villagers from C--- village, Naw M---, expressed her feelings about the incident to KHRG: “My whole body was shaking when people [other villagers] told me about it. […] They [the two orphans] are now with their [elderly] grandparents from their father’s side. […] I took pity on them a lot when [I saw] she [the older sister] was carrying her younger sister. When she [the older sister] was about to carry her younger sister, she said: ‘We do not have mommy and daddy anymore!!’”
Regarding the situation in the community following the destruction of T’Peh Koh Bridge, Naw M--- explained that the bridge had been rebuilt by the SAC and indiscriminate shelling is ongoing [latest update was in September 2024]. Naw M--- testified: “Whenever we heard the start of the sound of mortar firing, we would have concern in our hearts about where this mortar round would land. […] We could hear the sound [of mortar rounds explosions] every night. When I hear the sound [of mortar rounds explosions], my whole body is shaking [from fear/trauma].”
Most of the injured villagers accessed medical treatment at nearby local clinics, including N--- clinic, under Karen National Union (KNU)[8] administration. The 16 destroyed houses in C--- village were owned by Naw O---, Naw P---, Naw Q---, Saw R---, Naw S---, Saw T---, Naw U---, Saw V---, Naw W---, Naw X---, Naw Y---, Naw Z---, Naw Aa---, Naw Bb---, Naw Cc--- and Naw Dd---.
[Information in this report only includes some of the casualties and destruction from the shelling in Tha Htoo Township in May 2024, focusing only on C--- village. The KHRG researcher could not document the other destruction and casualties in other villages due to security reasons.]
Displacement and livelihood challenges
KHRG has documented the ongoing displacement of villagers from Shwe Yaw Pya village tract since mid-2023 caused by the danger of SAC indiscriminate shelling into their villages. During the displacement period [from mid-2023] until June 2024, some villagers returned to their villages [temporarily] when there was no shelling, and some returned to the villages [only] during the daytime to feed their livestock and return to displacement sites [afterwards], in fear. Some villagers have not returned to their village until now [latest update was received on September 2024].
Naw M---, the villager from C--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, who had not yet returned to her village [as of June 14th 2024], expressed: “Villagers fled to the forest because we are afraid of shelling and due to the frequent [SAC] mortar shelling into and beside our village. […] There is frequent shelling, and it [the SAC] has continued shelling since I was injured [in mid-2023]. We can hear the sound [of mortar explosions] again and again. After some time, I did not feel secure to live [in the village] anymore and [so] I moved here [to the displacement site]. […] I was in too much fear and I do not feel secure to return to my village. I will live with my son here. […] I do not want it [armed conflict] anymore and I want to go back to live in my home. I have been wanting to return to my village for a very long time already, but I cannot go home yet.”
Displacement leads to livelihood challenges as villagers have to flee in fear, unable to carry food and other household materials with them. They also do not feel safe to work on their farms or plantations to secure their livelihoods. Naw M--- expressed: “We do not feel secure to work [on farms/plantation] for our livelihoods anymore. We just have to flee from [mortar] explosions. They [SAC] shelled [mortar] rounds every day so we will be broken into pieces [by shrapnel] if we are in the village.”
There is a school in C--- village, but the school remains closed since the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the ongoing armed conflict that has escalated since the 2021 coup. Some students go to school in other villages, which are run by the Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD)[9], but many children do not have access to education.
Further background reading on the situation in Tha Htoo Township in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:
This photo was taken in May 2024 in C--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, Tha Htoo Township, Doo Tha Htoo District. This photo shows two injured villagers who were about to be transported to a local clinic for medical treatment after SAC indiscriminate shelling in the village tract on May 11th 2024. [Photos: KHRG]
SAC shelling caused casualties and property destruction
Fighting broke out between the State Administration Council (SAC)[2] and local resistance Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[3] combined with People Defence Force (PDF)[4] at an SAC army camp beside T’Peh Koh (Kyon Aeik) Bridge (located in Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, Bilin Township, Doo Tha Htoo District), lasting the whole night of 10th May to the morning of 11th May 2024. In the early morning of May 11th, the SAC withdrew from their army camp. Then, the KNLA and PDF destroyed the [T’Peh Koh] bridge, claiming that the SAC were using the bridge for their military operations in Doo Tha Htoo District. In response, the SAC Artillery Unit #314 based in Kya T’Raw (Zi Won), Shwe Yaung Pya village tract, shelled mortar rounds into villages around the area including A---, B---, C---, D--- and E--- villages, as well as many others in Shwe Yaw Pya village tract[5].
Mortar explosions [shelled by the SAC] killed two villagers, injured seven villagers, and destroyed 16 houses in C--- village. The two villagers who were killed by mortar shrapnel were Naw[6] Mya Thein (48 years old) and Saw[7] Zaw Min Htun (48 years old). The seven injured villagers were Naw F--- (42 years old) slightly injured on her neck; Naw G--- (52 years old), injured on her right thigh; Naw H--- (50 years old), slightly injured on her upper back and hip; Saw I--- (73 years old), slightly injured on his right elbow; Naw J--- (11 years old), slightly injured on her right elbow; Naw K--- (4 years old), slightly injured on her right elbow; and Naw L--- (5 years old), slightly injured on her right arm. Two women were also injured in B--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, one of whom was pregnant. [The names of the two injured villagers in B--- village are unknown.]
The two villagers who were killed by SAC mortar explosions in C--- village were a married couple. Their two young daughters, who are around 10 years old and three years old, are now orphans. The incident happened when the family was running from their house to a nearby bunker. One mortar shell landed after their daughters had reached the bunker but before the parents had entered the bunker. Shrapnel killed both of them immediately. One of the villagers from C--- village, Naw M---, expressed her feelings about the incident to KHRG: “My whole body was shaking when people [other villagers] told me about it. […] They [the two orphans] are now with their [elderly] grandparents from their father’s side. […] I took pity on them a lot when [I saw] she [the older sister] was carrying her younger sister. When she [the older sister] was about to carry her younger sister, she said: ‘We do not have mommy and daddy anymore!!’”
Regarding the situation in the community following the destruction of T’Peh Koh Bridge, Naw M--- explained that the bridge had been rebuilt by the SAC and indiscriminate shelling is ongoing [latest update was in September 2024]. Naw M--- testified: “Whenever we heard the start of the sound of mortar firing, we would have concern in our hearts about where this mortar round would land. […] We could hear the sound [of mortar rounds explosions] every night. When I hear the sound [of mortar rounds explosions], my whole body is shaking [from fear/trauma].”
Most of the injured villagers accessed medical treatment at nearby local clinics, including N--- clinic, under Karen National Union (KNU)[8] administration. The 16 destroyed houses in C--- village were owned by Naw O---, Naw P---, Naw Q---, Saw R---, Naw S---, Saw T---, Naw U---, Saw V---, Naw W---, Naw X---, Naw Y---, Naw Z---, Naw Aa---, Naw Bb---, Naw Cc--- and Naw Dd---.
[Information in this report only includes some of the casualties and destruction from the shelling in Tha Htoo Township in May 2024, focusing only on C--- village. The KHRG researcher could not document the other destruction and casualties in other villages due to security reasons.]
Displacement and livelihood challenges
KHRG has documented the ongoing displacement of villagers from Shwe Yaw Pya village tract since mid-2023 caused by the danger of SAC indiscriminate shelling into their villages. During the displacement period [from mid-2023] until June 2024, some villagers returned to their villages [temporarily] when there was no shelling, and some returned to the villages [only] during the daytime to feed their livestock and return to displacement sites [afterwards], in fear. Some villagers have not returned to their village until now [latest update was received on September 2024].
Naw M---, the villager from C--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, who had not yet returned to her village [as of June 14th 2024], expressed: “Villagers fled to the forest because we are afraid of shelling and due to the frequent [SAC] mortar shelling into and beside our village. […] There is frequent shelling, and it [the SAC] has continued shelling since I was injured [in mid-2023]. We can hear the sound [of mortar explosions] again and again. After some time, I did not feel secure to live [in the village] anymore and [so] I moved here [to the displacement site]. […] I was in too much fear and I do not feel secure to return to my village. I will live with my son here. […] I do not want it [armed conflict] anymore and I want to go back to live in my home. I have been wanting to return to my village for a very long time already, but I cannot go home yet.”
Displacement leads to livelihood challenges as villagers have to flee in fear, unable to carry food and other household materials with them. They also do not feel safe to work on their farms or plantations to secure their livelihoods. Naw M--- expressed: “We do not feel secure to work [on farms/plantation] for our livelihoods anymore. We just have to flee from [mortar] explosions. They [SAC] shelled [mortar] rounds every day so we will be broken into pieces [by shrapnel] if we are in the village.”
There is a school in C--- village, but the school remains closed since the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the ongoing armed conflict that has escalated since the 2021 coup. Some students go to school in other villages, which are run by the Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD)[9], but many children do not have access to education.
Further background reading on the situation in Tha Htoo Township in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:
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These photos were taken in May 2024 in C--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, Tha Htoo Township, Doo Tha Htoo District. These photos show one of the houses destroyed by mortar rounds explosions on May 11th 2024, due to SAC indiscriminate shelling in the village tract. The house was owned by two married villagers who were killed by shrapnel. [Photos: KHRG]
SAC shelling caused casualties and property destruction
Fighting broke out between the State Administration Council (SAC)[2] and local resistance Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[3] combined with People Defence Force (PDF)[4] at an SAC army camp beside T’Peh Koh (Kyon Aeik) Bridge (located in Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, Bilin Township, Doo Tha Htoo District), lasting the whole night of 10th May to the morning of 11th May 2024. In the early morning of May 11th, the SAC withdrew from their army camp. Then, the KNLA and PDF destroyed the [T’Peh Koh] bridge, claiming that the SAC were using the bridge for their military operations in Doo Tha Htoo District. In response, the SAC Artillery Unit #314 based in Kya T’Raw (Zi Won), Shwe Yaung Pya village tract, shelled mortar rounds into villages around the area including A---, B---, C---, D--- and E--- villages, as well as many others in Shwe Yaw Pya village tract[5].
Mortar explosions [shelled by the SAC] killed two villagers, injured seven villagers, and destroyed 16 houses in C--- village. The two villagers who were killed by mortar shrapnel were Naw[6] Mya Thein (48 years old) and Saw[7] Zaw Min Htun (48 years old). The seven injured villagers were Naw F--- (42 years old) slightly injured on her neck; Naw G--- (52 years old), injured on her right thigh; Naw H--- (50 years old), slightly injured on her upper back and hip; Saw I--- (73 years old), slightly injured on his right elbow; Naw J--- (11 years old), slightly injured on her right elbow; Naw K--- (4 years old), slightly injured on her right elbow; and Naw L--- (5 years old), slightly injured on her right arm. Two women were also injured in B--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, one of whom was pregnant. [The names of the two injured villagers in B--- village are unknown.]
The two villagers who were killed by SAC mortar explosions in C--- village were a married couple. Their two young daughters, who are around 10 years old and three years old, are now orphans. The incident happened when the family was running from their house to a nearby bunker. One mortar shell landed after their daughters had reached the bunker but before the parents had entered the bunker. Shrapnel killed both of them immediately. One of the villagers from C--- village, Naw M---, expressed her feelings about the incident to KHRG: “My whole body was shaking when people [other villagers] told me about it. […] They [the two orphans] are now with their [elderly] grandparents from their father’s side. […] I took pity on them a lot when [I saw] she [the older sister] was carrying her younger sister. When she [the older sister] was about to carry her younger sister, she said: ‘We do not have mommy and daddy anymore!!’”
Regarding the situation in the community following the destruction of T’Peh Koh Bridge, Naw M--- explained that the bridge had been rebuilt by the SAC and indiscriminate shelling is ongoing [latest update was in September 2024]. Naw M--- testified: “Whenever we heard the start of the sound of mortar firing, we would have concern in our hearts about where this mortar round would land. […] We could hear the sound [of mortar rounds explosions] every night. When I hear the sound [of mortar rounds explosions], my whole body is shaking [from fear/trauma].”
Most of the injured villagers accessed medical treatment at nearby local clinics, including N--- clinic, under Karen National Union (KNU)[8] administration. The 16 destroyed houses in C--- village were owned by Naw O---, Naw P---, Naw Q---, Saw R---, Naw S---, Saw T---, Naw U---, Saw V---, Naw W---, Naw X---, Naw Y---, Naw Z---, Naw Aa---, Naw Bb---, Naw Cc--- and Naw Dd---.
[Information in this report only includes some of the casualties and destruction from the shelling in Tha Htoo Township in May 2024, focusing only on C--- village. The KHRG researcher could not document the other destruction and casualties in other villages due to security reasons.]
Displacement and livelihood challenges
KHRG has documented the ongoing displacement of villagers from Shwe Yaw Pya village tract since mid-2023 caused by the danger of SAC indiscriminate shelling into their villages. During the displacement period [from mid-2023] until June 2024, some villagers returned to their villages [temporarily] when there was no shelling, and some returned to the villages [only] during the daytime to feed their livestock and return to displacement sites [afterwards], in fear. Some villagers have not returned to their village until now [latest update was received on September 2024].
Naw M---, the villager from C--- village, Shwe Yaw Pya village tract, who had not yet returned to her village [as of June 14th 2024], expressed: “Villagers fled to the forest because we are afraid of shelling and due to the frequent [SAC] mortar shelling into and beside our village. […] There is frequent shelling, and it [the SAC] has continued shelling since I was injured [in mid-2023]. We can hear the sound [of mortar explosions] again and again. After some time, I did not feel secure to live [in the village] anymore and [so] I moved here [to the displacement site]. […] I was in too much fear and I do not feel secure to return to my village. I will live with my son here. […] I do not want it [armed conflict] anymore and I want to go back to live in my home. I have been wanting to return to my village for a very long time already, but I cannot go home yet.”
Displacement leads to livelihood challenges as villagers have to flee in fear, unable to carry food and other household materials with them. They also do not feel safe to work on their farms or plantations to secure their livelihoods. Naw M--- expressed: “We do not feel secure to work [on farms/plantation] for our livelihoods anymore. We just have to flee from [mortar] explosions. They [SAC] shelled [mortar] rounds every day so we will be broken into pieces [by shrapnel] if we are in the village.”
There is a school in C--- village, but the school remains closed since the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the ongoing armed conflict that has escalated since the 2021 coup. Some students go to school in other villages, which are run by the Karen Education and Culture Department (KECD)[9], but many children do not have access to education.
Further background reading on the situation in Tha Htoo Township in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports: