Type of Incident

Shelling into a village [by the State Administration Council (SAC)[2].]

Date of Incident(s)

May 8th 2025

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Aa--- village, Wa Mah village tract[3], Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District.

Victim(s) Information

Name

Naw[4] A---

Naw B---

Age

17 years old

50 years old

Gender

Girl

Woman

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Marital Status  

-

Married

Occupation

Rubber tapper

Noodle seller

Religion

Buddhist

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Villager

Village

Aa--- village, Wa Mah village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township

Aa--- village, Wa Mah village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

[SAC’s] Infantry Battalion (IB)[5] #32 [under the command of the Operation Commander]

Seik Gyi Town, Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District.

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

A villager who went to the village where the incident occurred sent me [the KHRG field researcher] a voice message, so I knew about this incident. [After that, the KHRG field researcher conducted an interview with the victims and took photos as evidence]. 

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

KHRG [field researcher] conducted interviews with a villager who was injured by shrapnel from the mortar shell [named Naw B---], and with the mother of a 17-year-old girl who was injured by shrapnel from the mortar shell [named Naw A---].

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

From April 2025 to May 2025, fighting broke out between the State Administration Council (SAC) against the Karen National Liberal Army (KNLA)[6], the Karen National Defence Force (KNDO)[7], and the People’s Defence Force (PDF)[8] in the areas between Kaw T’Ree Town and Kruh Tuh Town [in Kaw T’Ree and Kruh Tuh Townships, Dooplaya District]. Following the fighting, SAC soldiers occupied villagers’ houses that were larger, to use them for cover and protection.

On May 8th 2025, at around 5:20 am, SAC soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) #32, based in Seik Gyi Town, fired a 120 mm mortar shell toward the area in Wa Mah village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township. [Naw C---, Naw A---’s mother, believes that] the soldiers may have received information that a KNLA leader was injured during the fighting and was passing through Aa--- village, Wa Mah village tract, on his return.

The shell landed inside Aa--- village, injuring Naw A--- (17 years old) on her left waist while she was sleeping in her bed. The shrapnel from the explosion also damaged the roof and wall of her [family’s] house. Initially, Naw A---’s family believed that her injury was not serious and did not require medical treatment. However, villagers warned her mother that the shrapnel from the mortar shell might be toxic [cause an infection], so she was sent to a clinic in the village. Naw C--- (Naw A---’s mother) later explained to KHRG: “I am not sure why they [SAC] conducted the shelling. In the past, they also fired shells, but no one was injured.”

The shrapnel from the explosion also injured a villager named Naw B--- (50 years old) on her chest. Naw B--- earns her livelihood by selling noodles and was injured while she was walking along the road to sell them. After being hit, she experienced difficulty breathing, so villagers sent her to a clinic run by the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW)[9], in Ab--- village, Say Kaw village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township, for treatment.

By May 13th 2025, Naw B---’s condition had improved, but she still needed to visit the clinic for medical check-ups. She did not yet know how much the overall [process to obtain] treatment would cost. When she was first sent to the clinic after the injury, she had to pay 50,000 kyats [23.81 USD][10] for the motorcycle taxi fee. [The treatment at the clinic was free of charge.] So far, Naw B--- has not received any support from organisations [to cover transport].

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

The injured villager, named Naw B---, and the mother of Naw A--- [the 17-year-old injured victim] permitted KHRG to use their information for publication​​​​​​.