Type of Incident

Shelling and injury.

Date of Incident(s)

December 28th 2025

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Aa--- village, Moo special area, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District.

Victim Information

Name

Maung[2] A---

Age

38 years old

Gender

Man

Ethnicity

Bamar[3]

Marital Status  

Married

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Villager

Village

Aa--- village, Moo special area, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District.

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

[Burma Army[4] unit,] Unknown

Nan Thar Kwin Army Camp, Nan Tar Kwin Town, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District]

Min Aung Hlaing[5]

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

The KHRG researcher saw this information on Moo Township news [social media page on Facebook] and contacted the local authority [the village head assistant]. The researcher received insightful information from the village head assistant and later, visited the incident location to do documentation [including an interview with the victim].

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The researcher interviewed the victim, Maung A---, and talked to the local authorities and other villagers who witnessed the incident.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On December 28th 2025, the Burma [Army], based in Nan Thar Kwin Town, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District, fired two shells. The two shells landed and exploded in a plantation field, located near Aa--- village, Moo special area, Moo Township, owned by Maung A---. [No fighting was occurring the area at the time of the shelling.]

When the shelling happened, Maung A--- was [on his way to] water his plants in his plantation field. As he turned on the water generator [to pump water for his plants], the shells landed near him, and he sustained injury on his left thigh. He felt an extreme pain and could not walk by himself [so he stayed still on the spot]. [Maung A---’s plantation was also damaged by the shelling.] He expressed in an interview: “When I got injured, I could not stand or walk by myself. I felt inconsolable feelings. I have never wanted to participate in the revolution, so I’ve been working on my plantation field, in my village. Then, this thing [the shelling] happened to me. [I wondered:] did I carry the unavoidable fate to encounter this shelling or was it just bad luck[6]?”

About 15 to 20 minutes after the shelling, the neighbours of Maung A--- found him [lying on the ground]. The neighbours saw that he sustained an injury, so he was sent to a doctor, a member of the CDM [Civil Disobedient Movement][7], [who lives] in Aa--- village. He was later referred to a clinic administered by the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW)[8] in Ab--- village, Kyaw Pya village tract[9], Moo Township, for further treatment. [It is unknown to KHRG how much he paid for his treatment, but KDHW clinics are usually fee-free.]

Later, he shared his worries in the interview: “I have three children. Two children are in grade four and one is in kindergarten. My wife is also pregnant. I had aimed to provide daily food for my family despite the difficulties [before he sustained the injury]. There are many things that do not go well [after he sustained injury]. So, I’ve been feeling sad. When I got hit, I wondered how I could support my family now. I’ve felt inconsolable feelings.” He continued: “We are farmers. To have food daily, we have to work daily. We hunt frogs and fish for our daily food. This is the situation of our livelihoods. So, when the shelling happened, we had to flee, but we did not have money to flee. We could not even afford for our daily food. We have stayed in the village [because there is no other way to survive]. If I must die, so be it. We have stayed in the village because we have livelihood difficulties [don’t have enough money to flee]. We have been living in fear.”

The villagers do not know why the Burma Army conducted shelling into the village. However, some villagers believe that the Burma Army fired mortar shells [into the village indiscriminately] because they wanted to target the villagers as their enemy [they believe the Burma Army chose to treat villagers as combatants]. Thus, the villagers from the village have felt greater fear [of staying in the village] following the shelling, [and some villagers have displaced themselves outside of the village]. Since the shelling, the villagers have also stayed alert while traveling and working [in the plantation fields] to support their livelihoods. The shelling incident has built anxiety for the villagers [to live in the village] and has caused [safety and livelihood] challenges for the villagers.

As a result of the shelling incident, villagers have dug enough bunkers for all families [who stay in the village]. Maung A--- shared: “We were scared that the shelling would happen again. We have not been able to sleep properly while feeling unsafe [from the shelling]. We, as a whole family, have slept in bunkers.” 

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

The victim, Maung A---, allowed [KHRG] to use this information as needed.