Type of Incident

Kamikaze drone strike [on a school]

Date of Incident(s)

September 3rd 2025

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Aa--- village, Pee T’Hka village tract[2], Ta Kreh Township, Hpa-an District.

Victim(s) Information

Name

Saw[3] A---

Naw[4] B---

Saw C---

Age

33 years old

27 years old

15 years old

Gender

Man

Woman

Boy

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Marital Status  

Married

Married

-

Occupation

Teacher

Teacher

Student

Religion

Buddhist

Christian

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

Ab--- village, Pee T’Hka village tract, Ta Kreh Township.

Ab--- village, Pee T’Hka village tract, Ta Kreh Township.

Aa--- village, Pee T’Hka village tract, Ta Kreh Township.

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Type of Aircraft

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Kamikaze drone

Burma Army[5]

Tha Ma Nya Town, T’Nay Hsah (Nabu) Township, Hpa-an District.

N/A

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

[The KHRG field researcher] contacted the KNU [Karen National Union[6]] authorities in Ta Kreh Township, and a school teacher, and conducted documentation. [The KHRG researcher interviewed all three victims.]

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

I [the KHRG researcher] went to Aa--- school (run by the KECD [Karen Education and Culture Department][7]) and documented the damage by taking photos and videos of the school and the injured people [and interviewing them].

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On September 3rd 2025, at around 10 am, the State Administration Council (SAC)[8] [Burma military regime] conducted a kamikaze drone strike on a KECD middle school in Aa--- village, Pee T’Hka village tract, Ta Kreh Township, Hpa-an District. At the time of the strike, there was no fighting near the area. Villagers were present in the village when the incident happened. [Villagers believe that the drone came from Tha Ma Nya Town, as they saw it approaching from that direction.]

The school had three buildings. One building was for Grades 1 to 5, another for Grades 6 to 9, and the third served as an office and storage for books. The incident occurred while teachers and students were practising songs in the first two school buildings. The drone hit the teachers’ office, setting fire to materials inside and damaging the building. As a result of the explosion, two teachers and one student were injured by the shrapnel.

Saw A--- (33 years old), a teacher from Ab--- village, Pee T’Hka village tract, sustained injuries to his head and waist. He explained to KHRG: “I was teaching in the classroom. I was not aware. I was teaching as usual. When I was teaching, the weapon came, ‘shwee…’ [sound of drone] and landed, ‘grann….’ [sound of explosion]. I did not know what had happened. I was hit on the head. At first, I did not feel pain. I was hit on my back too. I thought it was just a small stone that hit me. When I touched my head, it was bleeding. My back was also bleeding. […] The drone landed on a building located in the centre of the compound. Luckily, no one was staying in the building. Many people would have been killed if they had stayed in that building. The children were running, crying, and shouting. They were unable to carry their slippers and bags.”

Naw B--- (27 years old), a teacher from Ab--- village, Pee THka village tract, sustained injuries to her chest and lower abdomen. She explained to KHRG: “Recently, I have not been able to move easily. It is uncomfortable for me to breastfeed my child because I was injured on my breast, and I need to take medicine. My child is only four months old. When I go to the clinic again, I will need to rent a car since I don’t have one of my own. The school had to close, but I am not sure how long it will remain closed.”

Saw C--- (15 years old), a student from Aa--- village, Pee T’Hka village tract, sustained an injury to his left arm. All three victims received treatment [free of charge] at Aa--- clinic [run by the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW)[9]].

The reason for the attack on Aa--- school remains unknown. After the incident, teachers, students, and parents were afraid to open the school, so it was closed.

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

All the victims allowed KHRG to use the information and photos.