Fri, 16 Jan 2026
Taw Oo District Incident Report: SAC shelling killed a four-year-old boy and injured two villagers, including a six-year-old girl, in Daw Hpah Hkoh Township (June 2025)
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This Incident Report describes an event occurring in Daw Hpah Hkoh (Thandaunggyi) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District. On June 15th 2025, State Administration Council (SAC) Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #603, based in Leik Tho Town, fired three 120mm mortar shells. One mortar shell landed inside Aa--- village, P’Shaw Loh village tract, Daw Hpah Hkoh Township, while the two other shells landed outside of the village. The shell that landed inside the village exploded near a house, killing a four-year-old boy, and injuring the boy’s father and a six-year-old girl. The boy sustained an injury to his head and was killed on the spot. The injury of the girl was not severe. The father sustained an injury on his chest and underwent surgery in Taw Oo hospital after his son’s funeral ceremony. He was hospitalised for five days during his treatment. When he was recovering from his injury, his family faced financial challenges as he was the primary income earner in his family.[1]

 

 

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

Indiscriminate shelling.

Date of Incident(s)

June 15th 2025

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Aa--- (also known as Ab---) village, P’Shaw Loh village tract[2], Daw Hpah Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District.

Victim(s) Information

Name

Saw[3] A---

Saw B---

Naw[4] C---

Naw D---

Age

30 years old

4 years old

28 years old

6 years old

Gender

Man

Boy

Woman

Girl

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Karen

Marital Status  

Married

-

Married

-

Occupation

Plantation worker

-

Plantation worker

-

Religion

Christian

Christian

Christian

Christian

Position

Villager

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

Aa--- village

Aa--- village

Aa--- village

Aa--- village

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

[State Administration Council (SAC)[5]’s] Light Infantry Battalion (LIB)[6] #603, Military Operations Command (MOC)[7] #6

Leik Tho Town, Daw Hpah Hkoh Township

Unknown

 

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

A villager named Saw E---, living in Aa--- village, P’Shaw Loh village tract, Daw Hpah Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District, told me [a KHRG field researcher] this information. The researcher also interviewed two villagers, Saw A--- and Naw C---, who were victims [of the shelling].

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The researcher interviewed Saw A--- and Naw C--- [, both impacted by the shelling attack]. Saw A--- was injured by the explosion [of the mortar shell]. His son was killed by the shrapnel from the explosion. The plantations of Naw C--- and her house were damaged because the mortar shell landed near her house.

 

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On June 15th 2025, at 10:30 am, a truck was traveling along the road between Aa--- village and Ac--- village, P’Shaw Loh village tract, Daw Hpah Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District, to transport food for the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #603, who are based in Leik Tho Town. As the truck was transporting the food, troops from the KNLA [Karen National Liberation Army[8]]  Battalion #5, in Brigade #2, ambushed them. [The ambush took place approximately two to three miles (3.2 to 4.8 km) away from the village]. When fighting happened [after the ambush], villagers from Aa--- village feared that the State Administration Council [SAC] would conduct indiscriminate shelling into the village, thus some villagers fled to their plantations and to other safer places.

 

While running inside the village, a villager named Saw A--- was carrying things on his back, and his wife was carrying their four-year-old son, Saw B---, on her back. Naw D---, a six-year-old girl, and her parents were also running together with Saw A---’s family. At 12:30 pm, when the two families were fleeing near the fence of the house of another villager, Naw C---, a 120mm mortar shell landed and exploded near the house. Two other shells landed and exploded outside the village during the attack, without causing any damage.

 

The shelling killed Saw B--- (four years old) on the spot as shrapnel from the bomb hit him on his head. The shelling also injured Saw A--- (30 years old) on his right chest and Naw D--- (six years old) on her behind. The injury of Naw D--- was merely a scratch and not severe. Thus, she [recovered and] was able to play the next day. The injury of Saw A--- needed surgery to take out two pieces of shrapnel from his chest, however, he did not seek treatment immediately. He first arranged a funeral for his son. On June 16th 2025, after the funeral ceremony, he went to the SAC-administered Leik Tho hospital to have the shrapnel removed, but there was not enough equipment in the hospital to carry out the surgery, so he went to the SAC-administered Taw Oo (Toungoo) hospital, where he was hospitalised for five days. [Saw A--- had to pay for his treatment, but it is unclear how much he paid.]

 

In June 2025, when he was interviewed by the KHRG researcher, he was yet to fully recover from his injuries. At the time, he was still taking medicine and had doctor appointments for his injury scheduled. He did not receive any support from humanitarian organisations [for the loss of his son and his hospitalisation]. However, a [Christian] religious community organisation and villagers helped him with his son’s funeral and assisted him with burying his son’s corpse. As a husband and a father of two remaining children, having to undergo medical treatment caused livelihood difficulties for his family. As he was the sole wage earner for his family, they encountered financial challenges because he was not able to continue working while severely injured. [As of January 2026, Saw A--- had returned to work and his family had returned to Aa--- village.]

 

The shelling damaged a wall and the pillars of Naw C---’s house as well as the bedframe in the house, the planks stored beneath the house, and the banana and betel nut trees in their nearby plantation. However, Naw C--- and her family had already fled to a plantation far from their house, thus, none of her family members were injured or killed.

 

Villagers said the SAC was the only armed group that often shells into villages and thus was likely responsible for the shelling. Following the fighting, villagers said SAC soldiers also burned down a villager’s house located near the main road in Aa--- village.

 

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

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

They [Naw C--- and Saw A---] gave permission to [KHRG to] use this information.

                    

 

 

 

Further background reading on the situation on attacks on children in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:

Fri, 16 Jan 2026

Footnotes: 

[1] The present document is based on information received in July 2025. It was provided by a community member in Tao Oo 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: #25-256-I1, #25-256-D1, #25-256-M1, #25-256-A1-I1, and #25-256-A2-I1.

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

[4] ‘Naw’ is a S’gaw Karen female 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]A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. Most Light Infantry Battalions in the Tatmadaw 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.

[7] Military Operations Command (MOC) is comprised of ten battalions for offensive operations. Most MOCs have three Tactical Operations Commands (TOCs) made up of three battalions each.

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

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Type:
Incident Reports
Issue: Indiscriminate firing of mortars / small arms, Injury, Killing, Right to health, Village agency response, Violations of children's rights
Location:
Toungoo (Taw Oo) District
Year:
2025

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Taw Oo District Incident Report: SAC shelling killed a four-year-old boy and injured two villagers, including a six-year-old girl, in Daw Hpah Hkoh Township (June 2025)