Fri, 23 Jan 2026
Mu Traw District Incident Report: SAC air strikes injured three villagers in Bu Tho Township (March 2024)
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This Incident Report describes events occurring in Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw (Hpapun) District, in March 2024. On March 22nd 2024, a State Administration Council (SAC) aircraft conducted air strikes on Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, dropping six bombs. In the early morning, one of the bombs was dropped inside the house compound of a villager, injuring a 38-year-old villager on the hip. She received treatment in the village as her injury was not serious. Other houses were also damaged by the explosions. Later in the afternoon, two bombs were dropped inside the Ee--- monastery compound, from Aa--- village, causing severe head injuries to a monk, rendering him unconscious. The monk was sent to the Hh--- hospital after the incident, and was later referred to a hospital in Thailand. Again, on March 27th 2024, another air strike was conducted by the SAC on Aa--- village, striking another villager, who sustained minor injuries on the back. The air strikes on Aa--- village occurred after the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) attacked SAC army camps in Hpapun areas. Most of Aa--- villagers were displaced due to the SAC’s constant air strikes on civilian areas. [1]

 

 

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

[Air strike]. SAC [State Administration Council][2] air strikes injured three villagers.

Date of Incident(s)

March 22nd 2024, and March 27th 2024.

Incident(s) Location

(Village, Township, and District)

Ee--- monastery and Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract[3], Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District.

Victim(s) Information

Name

Saw[4] O---

Sai[5] T---

Naw[6] W---

Age

43 years old

29 years old

38 years old

Gender

Man

Man

Woman

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Marital Status  

Single

Single

Married

Occupation

Monk

Farmer

Unknown

Religion

Buddhist

Buddhist

Unknown

Position

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

Kk--- village, Ma Htaw village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District

Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District

Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Type of aircraft

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Y-12

Burma [State Administration Council (SAC)] Air Force

N/A

[General Htun Aung serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Burma (SAC) Air Force]

 

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

The first incident was reported by a local villager from Aa--- village, and a KHRG researcher went to meet him to document it. [The researcher met with one of the victims, Naw W---, and took photos of her injuries.] However, the researcher was unable to record all the details of the incident. Then, in January 2025 [specific date censored for security], the KHRG researcher travelled to a displacement site in Ma Htaw village tract to see the monk [the other injured villager] who had returned from receiving treatment. He then interviewed the monk to document further details about the incident that took place on March 22nd 2024. The second incident was reported by a local leader from Meh Klaw village tract [specific position censored for security], and in March 2024 [specific date censored], a KHRG field researcher went to Aa--- village to document the incident. [The researcher then informally interviewed a local Aa--- villager. He also briefly met with Sai T---, the injured villager, and took photos of the injury.]

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The first source of information is the victim himself, who explained the incident [occurred on March 22nd 2024] that happened to him. The second source is a villager from Aa--- village, where the incident took place, who provided additional details about the incident [occurred on March 27th 2024], as he witnessed the events. [The researchers also met with the victims, who explained details of the incidents, and took photos of their injuries.]

 

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

 

March 22nd 2024: SAC air strike injuring two villagers

 

On March 22nd 2024, at 6:15 am, an SAC aircraft (believed to be a Y-12) dropped bombs onto Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District. One bomb landed behind the house of a villager named Sai R---, and another bomb landed inside the house compound of another villager named Naw W---, where tobacco drying racks were located. The shelves for [to dry the] tobacco [leaves] were destroyed. [Nearby] houses were damaged.

 

It [shrapnel of the explosion] also hit Naw W--- (38 years old) on the hip. The healthcare workers from the same village treated her injury in the village for free, as she was not seriously injured. After, Naw W--- went to live in Dd--- Town, Bu Tho Township.

 

On [the same] March 22nd 2024, at 4:30 pm, an aircraft (Y12 type) carried out another air strike, dropping bombs on Aa--- village again. In total, six bombs were dropped on that day.

 

Two of the bombs landed in the compound of Ee--- monastery, located in the village, causing severe head injuries to a monk named Saw O--- (known as U[7] B---), while he was walking around the monastery compound. He is 43 years old and from Kk--- village, Ma Htaw village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District. The monk was injured on the left side of his head, rendering him unconscious after the shrapnel of the explosion hit him.

 

The monastery followers [layman and laywoman not ordained] and healthcare workers [from Aa--- village] sent him to Hh--- hospital (located in Pay Kay village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw District) on a hammock, as well as by boat and car [covering a trip of about two hours]. He was admitted to Hh--- hospital for one night. The next day, he was transferred to Ii--- hospital (located in Bu Tho Township) by car and boat, where he stayed for one to two days. After that, he was sent to Ss--- hospital, in Thailand. While at Ii--- hospital, one of the healthcare workers donated 4,000 baht [127 USD][8] to him. His [other] travel expenses and treatment costs were covered through the management of the local KNU [Karen National Union[9]] leaders. [Both Hh--- and Ii--- hospitals are administered by the Karen Department of Healthcare and Welfare (KDHW)[10].] In January 2025, he had already been discharged and returned to Mm--- site, an area where internally displaced villagers stay, located in the Ma Htaw village tract.

 

Following the incident that happened to him, the monk Saw O--- expressed: “I was in the monastery compound when I was injured. They [the SAC] should not have conducted air strikes on the monastery compound. They must maintain and care for religion. They should not fire onto religious [protected] places, whether schools or monasteries. […] I would like everyone to be able to live in peace in the future without suffering the same as I have.”

 

This [SAC attack] followed a drone strike conducted by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[11] on the strategic hilltop base and the army bases of [SAC’s] Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs)[12] #340, #341, and #434, in Hpapun area.

 

March 27th 2024: SAC air strike injuring a villager

 

On March 27th 2024, at 2 pm, an SAC aircraft (believed to be a Y-12) dropped bombs [again] onto Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract.

 

The SAC air strike injured a villager named Sai T--- (29 years old), from Aa--- village. He sustained a minor back injury, as well as an injury on the buttocks [while he was at his home]. He received treatment at a designated facility in Meh Klaw village tract [run by the KDHW] for patients and injured individuals. After the incident, Sai T--- went to stay in Dd--- Town.

 

Difficulties during displacement:

 

When the KNU [KNLA] soldiers attacked the Bamar [Burma Army] Battalions [army camps], they informed the villagers who lived in Cc--- area, Meh Klaw village tract, in advance (in March  2024) that they should flee their villages. As the SAC aircraft conducted an air strike near their army camps, most of the Aa--- villagers and those in villages near the SAC army camps went [fled] to Dd--- and Ff--- towns, as well as to the forest. [The injured villagers had not yet displaced on the day of the incident.]

 

When the villagers were displaced in the forest, they suffered from stomachaches and sickness. They [patients] went to get treatment from soldiers [medics] who were present near them. The KDHW healthcare workers sometimes visited and cared [for the displaced villagers staying in the forest]. However, due to this situation [as villagers displaced in the forest], they still need support and care [including healthcare support] [as of January 2025].

 

The SAC threatened [the villagers] by continuously shelling [and conducting air strikes on] the villages, causing constant fear among the villagers.

 

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

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

The monk Saw O--- [, who was injured by the SAC air strikes,] and a villager from Aa---, who provided the information, allowed KHRG to use the information. [Sai  T--- and Naw W---, the other two victims, also provided consent to use the information.]

 

 

                    

 

Further background reading on the situation of air strikes in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:

 
Fri, 23 Jan 2026

Footnotes: 

[1] The present document is based on information received in April 2024. It was provided by two community members in Mu Traw District who have 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: #24-163-D2, #24-163-D4, #24-164-I1, and #24-164-I2.

[2] 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).

[3] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.

[4] ‘Saw’ is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.

[5] ‘Sai’ is a Shan male honorific title used before a person’s name.

[6] ‘Naw’ is a S’gaw Karen female honorific title used before a person’s name.

[7] ‘U’ is a Burmese title used for elder men, used before their name.

[8] All conversion estimates for the kyat are based on the January 15th 2026 mid-market exchange rate of 1 bht to USD 0.031 (taken from wise.com/gb/currency-converter/thb-to-usd-rate?amount=100 ).

[9] The Karen National Union (KNU) is the main Karen political organisation. It was established in 1947 and has been in conflict with the Burma/Myanmar 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 in 2015, relations with the government remained tense.

[10] The Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) is the health department of the Karen National Union. It was established in 1956 to address the lack of public healthcare resources in rural Southeast Myanmar. It currently operates a network of community-based clinics in the region, but its capabilities remain limited due to funding constraints.

[11] The Karen National Liberation Army is the armed wing of the Karen National Union.

[12] A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. Most Light Infantry Battalions are under-strength with less than 200 soldiers, yet up-to-date information regarding the size of battalions is hard to come by, particularly following the signing of the NCA. LIBs are primarily used for offensive operations, but they are sometimes used for garrison duties.

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Type:
Incident Reports
Issue: Displacement, IDPs
Location:
Hpapun (Mutraw) District
Year:
2024

Related Readings

Mu Traw District Incident Report: SAC air strikes injured three villagers in Bu Tho Township (March 2024)