Burma Army shelling caused casualties, destruction, and displacement

After the SAC [State Administration Council[2], now referred to as the Burma Army[3]] seized power [in the 2021 coup], they conducted activities such as firing mortar shells into villages in Moo (Mone) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglibin) District, so the villagers had to face difficulties such as displacement, injuries, and destruction. On 18 February 2025, at 8:15 pm, the SAC IB [Infantry Battalion][4] #73, based in Zayatgyi Town army camp [located in Moo Township], indiscriminately fired two howitzer shells into Kl--- village, Nyaung Pin Tha village tract[5], Moo Township, and the first howitzer shell landed on the garden of Maung[6] J---, so his house and belongings were damaged. However, he was not injured.

Simultaneously, they [the Burma Army] fired another [second] howitzer shell. The howitzer shell landed and exploded underneath the house of U[7] D---. A 40-year-old named Daw[8] R---, who is the wife of U D---, was injured on both her legs and her neck. Also, their son, Maung B--- (12 years old) was hit on his left thumb and lost it. Due to the injuries, they were immediately sent to Rk--- clinic, located in Rk--- village, Moo special area, Moo Township, administered by the CDM [Civil Disobedience Movement][9]. They provided free treatment to the injured villagers. Afterward, due to the severity of Daw R---’s leg injuries, she was transferred to Taw Oo public hospital, located in Taw Oo Town and administered by the SAC. [It is unknown how much Daw R--- had to pay for the treatments.] His [U D---’s] house was also damaged, and his belongings such as a motorcycle, television, and other properties were damaged by the explosion, including kitchen supplies.

On 3 March 2025, at 8:35 pm, SAC soldiers from LIB [Light Infantry Battalion][10] #351, based in Ler Doh [army camp], fired two 120 mm mortar shells into Tk--- village, Haw Hkoh Ghaw village tract, Moo Township. The mortar shells landed on the garden of Saw[11] K--- and hit the belongings of Saw K---, such as petrol (diesel) and engine fuel (diesels); 20 big tins of fuel, which were burnt; some rice sacks, which were damaged; his diesel engine; a dynamo [an electric engine part]; the warehouse’s wall and roof, which were hit; a motorcycle, which was burnt; and his tractor, which was damaged as well.

On 3 April 2025, SAC soldiers from LIB #351, based in Ler Doh army camp, indiscriminately fired two 120 mm mortar shells into Tk--- village, causing destruction. Because the SAC soldiers deliberately targeted the village [a belief held by villagers due to the fact that armed resistance groups occasionally pass through the village] and fired a mortar into the village, the mortar shell landed and exploded on the house of a villager from Tk--- village named Naw[12] M---. None of the house owners were at home during the attack, so there were no casualties. Only the house and the roof of the house sustained significant damage.

However, the shrapnel from the explosion of the mortar shell scattered throughout the surrounding area and struck the house of another villager, named Saw T---. His 23-year-old daughter, Naw L---, was injured on her left leg and forehead. Because of the severity of her [Naw L---’s] leg injury caused by the shrapnel, local medics provided initial treatment and later referred her to Tl--- hospital [administered by the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW)[13] located in Tl--- village, P’Nah Wah Plaw village tract, Moo Township] for further treatment. They [villagers] do not need to pay treatment fees [at Tl--- hospital]. His [Saw T---’s] house was also damaged.

On 14 April 2025, at around 1 pm, SAC soldiers from IB #5, based in Nyaung Pin Tha village tract, indiscriminately fired two 120 mm mortar shells into Yt--- village, Pin Za Lot village tract, Moo special area. One of the mortar shells landed on a road in the village, [causing] no casualties. The remaining mortar shell landed close to the houses of Maung A--- and Ko[14] Z---, so their houses were damaged, and it also injured two villagers from Yt--- village. A 57-year-old named U Y--- was injured on his right armpit, and a 30-year-old named Maung I--- was injured on his back. Their injuries were not severe, so they received treatment from the local people responsible for healthcare [health workers] assigned by the KDHW. Villagers believe that when the SAC heard the information [received air reconnaissance] that villagers from Yt--- village set up a stage to celebrate the water festival, they [the Burma Army] acted arbitrarily and oppressively towards the villagers by conducting mortar shelling. Because the SAC conducted mortar shelling into the [Yt---] village, the villagers no longer dared to celebrate the water festival; furthermore, they moved to nearby villages to escape from the SAC oppression.

On 5 May 2025, at 8 am, soldiers from SAC Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #439 conducted indiscriminate shelling of mortars into Yz--- village, Pa Ya La Ha village tract, Moo special area. The mortars landed beside Ma N---’s house (a Yz--- villager) and the mortar shrapnel injured Ma N---’s neck. Because the mortar shrapnel remained in her bone, she was transported to a community clinic administered by the KDHW. The health workers from the community clinic could not remove the shrapnel, so she was transported to Zk---’s hospital (general hospital) for further treatment. But doctors from the Zk--- hospital did not have enough medical equipment to remove the shrapnel, so they said that they would transport her to a hospital in Yangon city. The injured person’s family was not confident enough [did not feel safe] to send her to Yangon hospital [due to their security concerns about travelling to Yangon], so they came back and transported her to a hospital in the KNU [Karen National Union][15] area. A villager from Yz--- village named U Q--- said: “Before the SAC’s soldiers conducted mortar shelling, the PDF [People’s Defence Force][16]’s soldiers came into the village. Because they [the SAC] heard about that, they conducted mortar shelling into the village. But the mortars landed far away from [where] the PDF soldiers had sheltered; it landed into their place [Ma N--- house]. But the SAC’s soldiers do not only conduct mortar shelling when they hear their enemies live in the village; they always conduct indiscriminate shelling into the village.”

Burma Army air strike caused death, damage, and displacement

On 28 April 2025, at around 10:15 am, an SAC fighter jet conducted an air strike into Za--- village, Kanyin Tan village tract, Moo special area. The air strike killed three villagers from Za--- village named Ma[17] O--- (44 years old), who was decapitated; U S--- (40 years old), who was hit on his bladder; and Ma V--- (50 years old), who was hit on her belly. They all died on the spot. Ma O--- was cleaning her house, U S--- was using his phone on his hammock under his stilted house, and Ma V--- was reading Tripitaka [a book of Buddhist scriptures] while the air strike was conducted.[18]

The shrapnel from the explosion also injured Ma W--- (a female child), who is 1 year and 8 months old. The shrapnel hit her face below her eye, and she was transported to an SAC-run hospital in Zk--- Town. Due to the severity of her injury, she was then transferred to a hospital in Taw Oo Town, Taw Oo District, run by the SAC; then, finally, she was transferred once more to a hospital in Yangon [city]. Her family paid for her transportation and treatment themselves. They did not receive any support from any organisations or individuals. Both transportation and treatment cost 370,000 kyats (176.19 USD[19]) in total.

Due to the air strike, houses of villagers from Za--- village, owned by U C---, U G---, Ko H---, and Ma E---, were damaged.

The villagers have no idea why the SAC conducted an air strike into the village. The villagers had to suffer injury and death because the fighter jet conducted the air strike unexpectedly, and air strikes were not conducted in the village before. Also, on the date the air strike was conducted, there was no fighting happening in the village, although fighting was happening to the south of the village, one hour away by motorbike. The father of the victim named Ma O---, who is named U X---, stated: “In the past, aircraft used to come like this. But it was only striking in fighting areas. So, we were careless.[20] We thought the aircraft went there because fighting had occurred. Then, at around 10:15 am, an aircraft conducted an air strike onto the village. On that day, my daughter [Ma O---] told me that she would go back to her house and do cleaning. […] She then was hit on her head, and her head was decapitated by the shrapnel.”

After the incident, when the villagers heard the sound of aircraft, they were scared because they worried the aircraft would conduct an air strike again. They also hid in their makeshift bunker to avoid the danger of the aircraft. Some of the villagers fled to other villages, and some fled to Pyu Town just to avoid the potential harm of the air strikes. 

Burma Army attacks caused displacement

The villagers in Moo Township faced displacement due to the SAC army conducting mortar shelling and air strikes into villages, as well as SAC soldiers sheltering in the villages. So, they [villagers] were no longer able to live in the villages. Therefore, they had to move to the villages that were far from [the area where] these types of SAC violations [happened]. Some villagers fled to their plantations and some fled to a forest. Because they did not have the chance to live in their villages and they had to displace, the consequences were [that they had] insufficient foods and they did not always have work; because they had to work for daily wages, it created difficulty for their livelihoods. Also, there were difficulties [in finding] places to live, and they had to live like that [in forests or on plantations, without adequate shelter, food, or work].

Conflict between armed groups and flooding caused travel restrictions for local villagers

When civilians travelled, they always had to be alert due to the fighting in some areas in Moo Township. Some of the villagers are shopkeepers, and they faced difficulties travelling into towns to buy things and coming back to sell in the villages, as the distances are far to travel. In addition, the SAC army stayed [set up checkpoints] on the road, conducted interrogations, and demanded [money], and [as a result] the price of commodities increased. In the rainy season, it was very difficult to travel and do business, because the roads were not good; there was mud in the fields and flooding; and in the places that there were no boats and bridges, it was difficult to cross rivers.

Education challenges due to Burma Army attacks

Regarding education in Moo Township, the challenges started after the SAC seized power [in the 2021 coup]. Before the 2025 academic year, schools in Moo Township were administered by the SAC. But in this year [2025], they [the SAC] were no longer able to control the area, because the KNU controlled the area, so the schools were administered by the KECD [Karen Education and Cultural Department][21]. Some schools are primary and some are middle schools. Only a few schools are high schools.

In the beginning of 2025, the villagers planned to send their children to school, but they were not confident enough for this, because they had security concerns due to the SAC seizing power. They [the SAC] conducted offensive military operations, such as firing mortar shells, carrying out drone strikes, and conducting air strikes. So, villagers lacked security.

Healthcare

Regarding healthcare in Moo Township area, it has difficulties and weaknesses; for example, if severe and serious injuries occur [to the villagers], there are insufficient medicines and not enough doctors. Furthermore, if related-blood diseases [hematologic diseases] occur, they have to face [the challenge that] there are no [available] medicines for it. About pregnant women giving birth, if they cannot give birth easily and need surgery to give birth, they have to go to a hospital in town to receive surgical treatment. For some of the villagers, if they suffer from an internal disease and need to find out about the disease [receive a diagnosis], there are no x-ray and ultrasound machines. So, they have to get it at the hospital from towns such as Pyu hospital [located in Pyu Town, Kler Lwee Htoo District] and Taw Oo hospital [located in Taw Oo Town, Taw Oo District]. Regarding patients, if they have to go to a hospital in town, the difficulties that they have to face are the far distance, difficulty to travel, and car rental fees.

Conclusion

These are the authentic incidents which happened in the area [Moo Township] that I [the researcher] documented in this report. As the information shows above, after the SAC seized power [in the February 2021 coup], the villagers have faced various difficulties. Due to the ongoing fighting, travel has become difficult; shelling resulted in casualties, destructions, and displacement; and there were disruptions to education and healthcare. Because of the brutality of the conflict, villagers have adopted different strategies to protect their [own] lives. However, some villagers have faced violations unexpectedly, and as a result, they have been unable to avoid such violations [employ agency strategies]. These challenges persist because there is still no peace in the country. Despite this, villagers continue to hope for a better life and lasting peace in the country.

Further background reading on the situation of human rights abuses in Kler Lwee Htoo District can be found in the following KHRG reports:

• Stolen Childhoods: Violations of children’s rights, urgent needs, and local agency in rural Southeast Burma during the conflict, October 2025.
• “Kler Lwee Htoo District Incident Report: Burma Army shelling injured a villager in Moo Township (December 2025)”, April 2026.
• “Photo Set: Shelling of villages in Southeast Burma by the Burma Army, the BGF, and other affiliated armed groups, and its impacts (January to November 2025)”, December 2025.