On Sunday March 15th 2026, at 1 pm, the SAC [State Administration Council[2], also known as Burma Army[3]] conducted a drone strike on a tollgate run by the KNU [Karen National Union][4], in Aa--- village, Zayat Gyi Taung Chan village tract[5], Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District, injuring two villagers, U[6] A---, 65 years old, and U B---. [At the time of the incident, no fighting was occurring in the area.]

U A--- and his colleague U B--- were sitting on the right side of the tollgate and watching the news, while another colleague, U C---, was sitting on the left side of the gate. Near the gate, sandbags and pebble bags were stacked up to cover the gate. At 1 pm, a drone from an SAC army camp came and dropped three bombs. The first bomb landed on the sand- and pebble bags. Then, the shrapnel hit and injured U A--- and U B---. U A--- sustained severe injuries to his abdomen and right shoulder blade, while U B--- sustained a minor injury, a scratch on his arm. Motorbikes that were parked near the gates were also hit and damaged by the shrapnel. [The other two bombs landed outside the village and did not injure anyone.]

U A--- was sent to Ab--- hospital, run by the Burma military regime, in Zayat Gyi Taung Chan village tract, with one of the local villagers’ motorbikes. However, the hospital did not have enough equipment and medication to treat U A---’s injuries. Therefore, the local village leaders discussed and decided to send him to Ac--- hospital, run by the KDHW [Karen Department of Health and Welfare][7], which is located in Ad--- village, Peh Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township. On the way to the hospital, they changed cars three times because there were SAC checkpoints. The first car was a KNU local leader’s car and it dropped U A--- off before reaching the SAC checkpoint. Then, they passed the checkpoint with a local villager’s car. That villagers’ car then also drove to a halfway destination. For the last part, the villager was transported to the hospital with a hospital leader’s car. When arriving at Ac--- hospital, he had X-rays taken, which showed that he did not sustain any internal injuries. However, after the incident, U A--- was unable to sleep properly, day and night [as a result of both trauma and pain], according to his wife.

U A---, who lives in Aa--- village, has four children. Three of his children are married and only his youngest son is single. His youngest son works in Thailand; thus, he and his wife live alone together at home. Due to high prices and livelihood difficulties, U A--- works as a toll collector at a tollgate run by the KNU, located in Aa--- village. The job pays 15,000 kyat (7.14 USD)[8] per day and it helps alleviate his livelihood difficulties. He has been working at the same gate for over nine months. [While U A--- was able to recover in the hospital and return home, his current livelihood situation is unknown to KHRG.]

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

• ကဘီယူၤဟဲလံ Aircraft coming! : Impacts of air strikes on local communities and villagers’ protection strategies in Southeast Burma since the 2021 coup, November 2024.
• “Kler Lwee Htoo District Incident Report: Burma Army air strike killed one villager, injured two villagers, and damaged villagers’ houses and a monastery in Moo Township (January 2026)”, March 2026.
• “Mu Traw District Incident Report: Burma Army air strike and mortar shelling killed a villager, forcing other villagers to flee in Dwe Lo Township (October 2025)”, March 2026.