Type of Incident

[Killing.] A villager was fatally shot by SAC soldiers

Date of Incident(s)

June 11th 2023

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

[Farmland near] Y--- village, Ma Lay Ler village tract[2], Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] H---

Age

22 years old

Gender

Man

Ethnicity

Karen

Marital Status  

Single

Occupation

Farming

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

Y--- village, Ma Lay Ler village tract, Dwe Lo Township.

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[4] #409,

under the State Administration Council (SAC)[5]

Hkoo Thoo Hta army camp, located in Hkoo Thoo Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township

Captain Thet Naung Soe,

Lieutenant Way Yan Kyaw, Lieutenant Shine Moe Aung, and Major Chan Nyein Htun.

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

After receiving the information from the [Karen National Union (KNU)[6]] District office in Dwe Lo Township, I [the KHRG researcher] conducted an interview with the village head of Y--- village, named Saw A--, as well as with Naw[7] Z---, Saw H---’s mother, to retrieve the precise information.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

Saw H---’s mother named Naw Z--- and the village head of Y--- village, Saw A---, provided me [the KHRG field researcher] with the information. They knew about the incident because they were in the village when the incident happened and went to carry the dead body from the incident location.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

 On June 11th 2023, at 5 pm, a villager named Saw H--- (22 years old), living in Y--- village, Ma Lay Ler village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District, was fatally shot by State Administration Council (SAC) soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #409, next to his farmland, while he was about to leave to his village. The SAC soldiers shot a bullet at him that hit the left side of his chest and killed him instantly.

The incident happened one to two hours after Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[8] soldiers attacked soldiers from LIB #409 with a tripwire-detonated landmine, while they [SAC soldiers] were travelling from Meh Way army camp [located at Meh Way village tract, Dwe Lo Township] to Hkoo Thoo Hta army camp [located at Hkoo Thoo Hta village tract, Dwe Lo Township]. [Shortly after villagers saw LIB #409 soldiers leaving Y--- village, where they rested for a while, the killing incident occurred.] [Villagers believe that] when they [SAC LIB #409 soldiers] arrived at Saw H---’s farmland [located near Y--- village], they encountered him and shot at him next to the farmland.

The parents of Saw H---, [other] villagers, and local authorities went to [the incident place when hearing the sound and] carried the dead body home, 20 to 30 minutes after his death. It is unknown which soldier from LIB #409 shot at Saw H---. [SAC] LIB #409 is led by Captain Thet Naung Soe, Lieutenant Way Yan Kyaw, Lieutenant Shine Moe Aung, and Major Chan Nyein Htun. It is also unknown who led [or authorised] them [to shoot at Saw H---].

On June 12th 2023, at 1:30 pm, Saw H--- was buried in the village’s cemetery. Although he is not the main breadwinner, he tried to help his parents on the farmland. With the death of Saw H---, his parents were mourning, experiencing heart problems [emotional distress], and they were befuddled and struggled to work. His mother, named Naw Z---, reported: “I have no one to take care of us with the death of my son. We cannot work [much] as we are getting old. I don’t know what we are going to do to secure our livelihood. It has become a great difficulty for our livelihood.” 

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

The victim’s family and the village head allowed KHRG to use [publish] the information with proper censoring.