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Print:This Incident Report describes events occurring in Kaw T’Ree (Kawkareik) Township, Dooplaya District, including indiscriminate shelling against villagers. On April 15th 2025, State Administration Council (SAC)’s Aung Zeya Column troops, located near Aa--- village, Noh Poe village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, fired two shells into Aa--- village, while villagers were sleeping, injuring two villagers: 41-year-old Naw A--- and 21-year-old Saw B---. The shelling also damaged two houses, a tractor, and a generator used for farming. While receiving treatment due to the injury, Saw B--- was unable to work and bring home money to his family. As a result, his wife had to support herself and their three-year-old son alone.[1]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
Shelling into a village. |
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Date of Incident(s) |
April 15th 2025 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
Aa--- village, Noh Poe village tract[2], Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District. |
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Victim(s) Information |
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Name |
Naw[3] A--- |
Saw[4] B--- |
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Age |
41 years old |
21 years old |
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Gender |
Woman |
Man |
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Ethnicity |
Karen |
Karen |
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Marital Status |
Single |
Married |
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Occupation |
Farmer |
Farmer |
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Religion |
Buddhist |
Buddhist |
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Position |
Villager |
Villager |
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Village |
Aa--- village |
Aa--- village |
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Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors) |
||||
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Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
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Unknown [State Administration Council (SAC)[5]’s soldier] |
- |
Aung Zeya Column[6] |
[Temporary base on a mountain near Aa--- village.] |
- |
Part 2 - Information Quality
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1. Explain in detail how this information was collected. |
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A villager from Ab--- village [Noh Poe village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township] informed a KHRG field researcher [about the incident]. Then, the field researcher contacted the Township [a Karen National Union (KNU)[7] leader from Kaw T’Ree Township]. After that, the researcher went to Aa--- village and talked to the village head. The village head explained it [information about the incident] to the researcher and showed the researcher around [the incident place]. After that, the village head arranged for the researcher to meet with the family members of [one of] the victims. However, the researcher did not get to meet with the two victims [themselves] because they had been sent to a treatment centre. The researcher took pictures and interviewed two family members of Saw B---, one of the injured victims. The researcher did not meet with any family members of Naw A--- as her house’s door was closed [she lived alone and was being hospitalised at the time. Her family also lives in another village]. [The KHRG researcher also talked informally with multiple villagers in the incident place.] |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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The wife of Saw B---, named Naw C---, and Saw D---, the father-in-law of Saw B---, gave me [the KHRG researcher] the information. The village head also told me [the researcher] about the information. |
Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident
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Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. |
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On April 15th 2025, at around 11 pm, SAC’s Aung Zeya Column fired two mortar shells into Aa--- village, Noh Poe village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District, injuring two villagers from Aa--- village. The shelling also damaged two houses, their walls, and a tractor. [Local villagers and the village head reported that] the mortar shells fired were 81mm shells. The two shells injured one villager each.
When the shelling happened, villagers were sleeping. However, Saw B--- was feeling hungry, so he [went to the kitchen and] started eating. [The shell landed right on his house, and the shrapnel hit him. After the shelling, everyone, [including his] neighbours, came to see him. He sustained an injury on his right hip.
His father-in-law, named Saw D---, first sent him to the house of a nurse, Naw E---. Later, local leaders sent him to a clinic managed by the KNLA/PDF [Karen National Liberation Army[8] and People’s Defence Force[9]], which was located outside of Aa--- village. The KNLA/PDF clinic did not charge Saw B--- a treatment fee.
Naw C---, the wife of Saw B---, expressed to KHRG: “Before, my husband and I worked together on a farm [as daily wage workers]. Sometimes, he was able to bring money home. But as he is injured, he cannot bring any money home [at the moment]”. [As a result,] she had to support herself and her three-year-old son’s livelihood [by herself]. She also expressed: “I would love to live and work peacefully and would like to travel freely with my child. But now, if my child goes out to play, I call him back. And when I am working, I have to think [worry for] my son.”
When the shelling happened, Naw A--- was inside her house. A mortar shell landed on the roof of her house, damaging the roof and walls, and her tractor and a generator that she used for farming. She was injured on her abdomen. She was sent to the same KNLA/PDF clinic by village leaders. Later, Naw A--- was referred to Ac--- health facility (which is located in Tak province, Thailand) as the KNLA/PDF clinic did not have enough equipment [to treat the injuries of Naw A---]. [She was not charged for treatment at either the KNLA/PDF clinic or at Ac--- health facility.]
Both casualties are villagers from Aa--- village. As of April 17th 2025, family members of Naw A--- did not know [about the incident] because she is single and she lived alone in her house. [Her family members live in another village.]
[Two] villagers were injured [due to the shelling], and it put villagers’ livelihoods in jeopardy. These are human rights violations. Several villagers in Aa--- village told him [the KHRG researcher] that they believe the perpetrator [of the shelling] is the SAC armed forces. In the interview with KHRG, Naw C---, the wife of Saw B---, said: “The [SAC’s] Aung Zeya Column is located on a mountain not far away from Aa--- village, and no one lives there other than the Aung Zeya Column”. [However, villagers do not know from which direction the shell came. According to the KHRG field researcher, there were other armed groups near the village as well.] |
Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details
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Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided. |
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The [interviewed] family members [of one of the victims] allowed for this information to be used for publication as part of KHRG’s work. [The village head also allowed the researcher to publish this information.] |
Further background reading on the situation on Shelling in Dooplaya District in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- Defying Hunger : State Administration Council (SAC)’s systematic destruction of civilian livelihoods and food systems in Southeast Burma (January - December 2024), May 2025.
- “Dooplaya District Incident Report: SAC shelling killed a villager in Kruh Tuh Township, April 2025.” May 2025.
- “Dooplaya District Short Update: SAC’s Aung Zeya Column shelling injured a 25-year-old man in Kaw T’Ree Township, October 2024”, January 2025.
On April 15th 2025, the SAC armed forces fired two mortar shells into Aa--- village, Noh Poe village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District, resulting in the injury of two villagers inside their houses, and damage to their property. The photos at the top show the two villagers’ houses that were damaged by the shelling, where the injured villagers lived: the photo on the left is the house of 21-year-old Saw B---, and the photo on the right is the house of 41-year-old Naw A---. The photo on the bottom left shows the damaged tractor of Naw A---, which has a hole from the mortar shell shrapnel in it. [Photos: KHRG]
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in April and June 2025. It was provided by a community member in Dooplaya District who has been trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions on the ground. The names of the victims, their photos and the exact locations are censored for security reasons. The parts in square brackets are explanations added by KHRG. This document combines several received reports with the following KHRG internal log numbers: #25-140-A1-I1, #25-140-A2-I1, #25-248-I1, and #25-140-M1.
[2] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.
[3] ‘Naw’ is a S’gaw Karen female honorific title used before a person’s name.
[4] ‘Saw’ is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.
[5] The State Administration Council (SAC) is the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the February 1st 2021 military coup. It was established by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on February 2nd 2021, and is composed of eight military officers and eight civilians. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Burma/Myanmar and leads the Military Cabinet of Myanmar, the executive branch of the government. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of SAC chairperson following the coup. The military junta changed its name in July 31st 2025 to State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC).
[6] The Aung Zeya Column is a State Administration Council (SAC) counteroffensive that was formed in April 2024 under the name ‘Operation Aung Zeya’. Its aim is to retake control of the Asian Highway between Kaw T’Ree (Kawkareik) and the border town Myawaddy from Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) forces. The column is being overseen by deputy junta chief Soe Win and is comprised of over 1,000 troops. Since the operation started, there have been daily attacks along the Asian Highway.
[7] The Karen National Union (KNU) is the main Karen political organisation. It was established in 1947 and has been in conflict with the government since 1949. The KNU wields power across large areas of Southeast Myanmar and has been calling for the creation of a democratic federal system since 1976. Although it signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, following the 2021 coup staged by Burma Army leaders, the KNU officially stated that the NCA has become void.
[8] The Karen National Liberation Army is the armed wing of the Karen National Union.
[9] The People’s Defence Force (PDF) is an armed resistance established independently as local civilian militias operating across the country. Following the February 1st 2021 military coup and the ongoing brutal violence enacted by the junta, the majority of these groups began working with the National Unity Government (NUG), a body claiming to be the legitimate government of Burma/Myanmar, which then formalized the PDF on May 5th 2021 as a precursor to a federal army.
