Kler Lwee Htoo District Incident Report: Burma Army ground operations, air strikes, and shelling killed at least 31 villagers including 15 children, injured many others, and caused extensive property destruction and displacement in Ler Doh Township (March 2026)

This Incident Report describes an event occurring in Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District, in March 2026. On 5 March 2026, at around 5 am, the Burma Army entered Aa--- village and Ab--- village, Htee Poo Loo village tract. When the villagers realised that the Burma Army entered the village, they tried to flee from the Burma Army, and some of the villagers fled to the monastery. After they entered the villages, the Burma Army launched air strikes onto the monastery and shelled the villages. 26 villagers were killed by the air strikes and many more were injured by both the air strikes and the shelling. Over 400 villagers from Ab--- and Aa--- villages were arrested by the Burma Army, and they fatally shot five villagers who tried to escape. The Burma Army also took the villagers’ possessions, planted landmines, burned down villagers’ houses, and forced the arrested villagers to work for them. By 27 March 2026, all of the arrested villagers were released, but they had to displace to other villages and towns. Due to this incident, almost all of the villagers from Htee Poo Loo village tract left their villages and fled to nearby villages and towns. The displaced villagers faced livelihood and shelter difficulties during their displacement.[1]

Part 1 – Incident Details

Type of Incident

[Air strike; shelling; killing; arbitrary arrest.] The Burma Army[2] entered two villages and conducted shelling, air strikes, fatally shot villagers, planted landmines in the village, burnt down the villagers’ houses, and took villagers’ possessions.

Date of Incident(s)

5 March 2026

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Aa--- village and Ab--- village, Htee Poo Loo village tract,[3] Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District.

Victim Information (Deceased)
Name	Age	Gender	Ethnicity	Marital Status	Occupation	Religion	Position	Village
Ma[4] A---	45 years old	Woman	Bamar[5]	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village, Htee Poo Loo village tract, Ler Doh Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District
Ma B---	48 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa---village
Ma C---	40 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma D---	40 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma E---	50 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma G---	43 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Maung[6] H---	15 years old	Boy	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa---village
Ma I---	12 years old	Girl	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Maung J---	14 years old	Boy	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Maung K---	14 years old	Boy	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma L---	13 years old	Girl	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma M----	53 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma N---	43 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma O---	9 years old	Girl	Bamar	-	Unknown	-	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma P---	6 years old	Girl	Bamar	-	Unknown	-	Unknown	Aa--- village
Maung Q---	7 years old	Boy	Bamar	-	Unknown	-	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma R---	8 years old	Girl	Bamar	-	Unknown	-	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma S---	9 years old	Girl	Bamar	-	Unknown	-	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma T---	10 years old	Girl	Bamar	-	Unknown	-	Unknown	Aa--- village
Maung V---	3 years old	Boy	Bamar	-	Unknown	-	Unknown	Aa--- village
Ma W---	60 years old	Woman	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
U[7] X---	55 years old	Man	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Y---	16 years old	[Unknown]	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Maung Z---	12 years old	Boy	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Maung Za---	13 years old	Boy	Bamar	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Aa--- village
Zb---	Over 40 years old	Man	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Ab--- village, Htee Poo Loo village tract, Ler Doh Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District
Saw[8] Zc---	45 years old	Man	Karen	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Ab--- village
Saw Zd---	53 years old	Man	Karen	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Ab--- village
Saw Ze---	35 years old	Man	Karen	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Ab--- village
U Zg---	46 years old	Man	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Buddhist	Unknown	Ac--- village, Htee Poo Loo village tract, Ler Doh Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District
Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)
Name(s)	Rank	Unit	Base	Commander’s Name
Unknown	Unknown	[Burma Army] LIB [Light Infantry Battalion] [9] #264, LIB #349, IB [Infantry Battalion][10] #20, and a special force [a commando force of LIB #264]	Shwegyin Town, Hsaw Htee (Shwegyin) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District; Peinzaloke Town, Ler Doh Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District	Unknown

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)
Type of Aircraft	Unit	Base	Commander’s Name
[Unknown]	Burma Army Air Force	[Unknown]	[General Htun Aung serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Burma Army Air Force]

Part 2 - Information Quality

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

I [a KHRG researcher] documented this incident three days after the incident had happened. Area authorities contacted and [informed] me [a KHRG researcher] about the incident. Then, I [a KHRG researcher] contacted the person [a member of local emergency relief group] who knows KHRG [and asked that person] about the situation. After that, I [a KHRG researcher] went to the field [the places that displaced villagers stay] and conducted interviews with the victims.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

I [a KHRG researcher] conducted an interview with Aa--- villager Saw Zh---, who is a witness. His 13-year-old son, Maung Za---, was killed in the incident. He explained the incident to me [a KHRG researcher]. I [a KHRG researcher] conducted an interview with U Zi---, who is a village leader of Aa--- village [specific position censored for security reasons], a witness, and who buried 28 corpses. I [a KHRG researcher] also conducted an interview with Saw Zj---, who is a leader of Htee Poo Loo village tract [specific position censored for security reasons] and who witnessed the incident.

Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On 5 March 2026, around 5 am, around 300 Burma Army soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) #264, LIB #349, Infantry Battalion (IB) #20, and a special force [a commando force of LIB #264] entered Ab--- village and Aa--- village, both located in Htee Poo Loo village tract, Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District. Ab--- village and Aa--- village are very close and only a creek separates these two villages. Around 4 am, before the Burma Army entered the villages, they had already arrived nearby and surrounded the villages.

In Aa--- village, when there was sound of gun fire and the villagers realised that the Burma Army had entered the villages, all villagers tried to flee. Some of the villagers escaped from the Burma Army, while others were arrested: over 300 villagers in Aa--- village were arrested. The Aa--- village leader, U Zi---, said: “Around 5:30 or 6 am, while I was washing my face, my wife’s aunty told me: ‘Son, U Zk---‘s car, which is carrying daily workers, is stopped by the People’s Defence Force (PDF)’,[11] I replied: ‘Why did they stop [the car]? Why did the PDF have to stop [the car]’? Then I went to look while brushing my teeth. After looking, I realised [they] are not PDF. The uniforms are [Burma] Army. So, I hurried to wash my face, put my phone at my waist, took my motorcycle, and left. After leaving, I encountered [the Burma Army]. [One of the soldiers said]: ‘Drive ahead. Don’t plan to run away. I will shoot you dead.’ When I arrived ahead, one of the soldiers made me stop and told me: ‘Leave the motorcycle there,’ so I left the motorcycle there. He continued: ‘Go,’ and [he] followed me with a gun. When I arrived there [the place where the Burma Army had gathered the arrested villagers], all women were made to sit, and all men were made to lie prone and put their hands on their heads. They made me put my phone in a basket and made me lie prone.” The arrested villagers had to stay in the village with the Burma Army. The Burma Army also threatened that if the villagers tried to escape, they would kill all their family members.

Some of the villagers fled to Aa--- monastery. Whenever something happens, Aa--- villagers usually flee to the monastery. They thought that even when fighting occurred, the monastery would not be attacked, so they stayed in the monastery. However, the Burma Army conducted air strikes into the monastery. U Zi--- said: “[While lying prone] I heard they [the Burma Army] were talking on walkie-talkies like: ‘Fire on the blue building. Fire on the monastery.’” According to the villagers, the Burma Army thought that PDF soldiers were staying [in the monastery], but there were only villagers in the monastery. As a result of the air strikes, 26 villagers were killed and a lot of villagers were injured [KHRG is unable to confirm how many villagers were injured]. Two villagers were also fatally shot, so 28 villagers were killed in Aa--- village in total. The Burma Army also conducted shelling from LIB #264’s army camp and some of the villagers were injured due to the shelling.

On 6 March 2026, the corpses in Aa--- village were buried in Aa---’s graveyard by village leader U Zi--- and some of the arrested villagers. U Zi--- said: “[I asked the Burma Army Commander]: ‘I am going to take the corpses, A’Ba Lay’ [Uncle]. [He replied], ‘Do it, do it!’ After I asked permission from them, in total I took 26 corpses from the monastery by two [tractor] cars. […] On the first trip, I transported [the corpses] to the graveyard and put [the corpses] there. Then, we turned back the cars. One of the cars took all of the corpses left in the monastery. With the other car, we drove around the village. I knew [the corpses] would be on the road, but they [the Burma Army] did not allow [us] to drive on the road. I searched and took all of the corpses nearby the village. […] We only got two [more] corpses [in Aa--- village, of Saw Ze--- and U Zg---, who had been fatally shot].”

On 6 March 2026, around 11 pm, fighting broke out between [joint forces of the] PDF and KNLA [Karen National Liberation Army][12] and the Burma Army, who were sheltering in Aa--- village. On 7 March 2026, around 1 or 2 am, the arrested villagers in Aa--- village started to flee the village and escaped from the Burma Army. Before the Burma Army was attacked, they took all of the Aa--- villagers’ possessions.

In Ab--- village, there are 240 households and around 1,300 villagers. When the Burma Army entered [Ab--- village], all villagers felt scared and ran away. The villagers tried to flee to nearby towns and villages; some fled to Aa--- village. Some of the villagers escaped from the Burma Army. However, over 150 Ab--- villagers were arrested. A leader of Htee Poo Loo village tract, Saw Zj---, stated: “On that day, I tried to run away. The civilians [Ab--- villagers] were fleeing towards Aa--- [village]. My house is located beside the road. So, I went on the road and said to them ‘Don’t flee to that side. Flee to this hill. Flee to another village. Don’t flee to Aa--- [village]. Aa--- village is already surrounded by the Burma [Army]. You can’t go.’ While I was talking, the Burma [Army] already arrived at the school near my house, so I started to flee.”

While the villagers tried to run, five villagers were fatally shot and around eight villagers were injured by the Burma Army shooting: three villagers named Saw Zc--, Saw Zd---, and Zb--- were fatally shot in Ab--- village, and two villagers named Saw Ze--- and U Zg--- were fatally shot in Aa--- village. Saw Zj--- continued: “[The Burma Army] called them, but they tried to run away. Therefore, the Burma Army shot them dead.” The Burma Army transported some of the injured villagers to Ad--- Town [in Bago Region] and Ae--- Town [Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District]. The arrested villagers had to stay with the Burma Army in the village. For Ab--- villagers, they had to give their possessions to the Burma Army to be released. By 27 March 2026, all Ab--- villagers were released; however, as of June 2026, the Burma Army is still sheltering in Ab--- village.

[Villagers believe] the reason the Burma Army entered the villages is because PDF soldiers were sheltering in the villages. However, when they [the Burma Army] entered the villages, they fatally shot villagers, and their air strikes and shelling killed and injured a lot of villagers. The remaining injured villagers were transported to Ag--- clinic [by other villagers], which is located in Kyun Gyi village tract, Ler Doh Township; Ah--- clinic, which is located in Law Muh Thaw village tract, Ler Doh Township; Ai--- clinic, which is located in Ler Wah village tract, Hsaw Htee (Shwegyin) Township; and Aj--- clinic, which is located in Ng’ Pel Aye tract, Ler Doh Township. These clinics are administered by the KDHW [Karen Department of Health and Welfare].[13] Some of the injured villagers were also transported to Ak--- clinic, also known as Al--- clinic, located in Am--- place, Yeh Muh Plaw village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw (Hpapun) District. This clinic is administered by Earth Mission, with Stronghold Rescue & Relief providing ambulances. The injured villagers did not have to pay any treatment fees.

The Burma Army also planted landmines in both Aa--- and Ab--- villages, took villagers’ possessions and forced villagers to transport these possessions for them, and killed villagers’ livestock. Furthermore, they burned down around five Ab--- villagers’ houses. After this incident, almost all of the villagers in Htee Poo Loo village tract fled to nearby towns and villages such as Ae--- Town and Ag--- village, Kyun Gyi village tract; An--- village, K’ Nyin Kyun village tract; and Aj--- village, Ng’ Pel Aye village tract, Ler Doh Township, and stayed with their relatives.[14] Among the displaced villagers, Ab--- and Aa--- villagers were not able to bring any possessions with them, so they are facing more difficulties than villagers from Ao--- village, Ac--- village, and Ap--- village [all in Htee Poo Loo village tract, who had more time to gather their possessions before fleeing]. The displaced villagers in Ag--- village received monetary support from a local emergency relief group, the [Kler Lwee Htoo] District administrator, and the PDF. Some other displaced villagers also received support from the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) and the Free Burma Rangers (FBR). However, the support is not sufficient to cover villagers’ livelihoods.

Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details

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

The father of a victim, Saw Zh---; a leader of Aa--- village, U Zi---; and a leader of Htee Poo Loo village tract, Saw Zj---, all gave permission to use this information.

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

Fri, 03 Jul 2026

Gallery:

The photos shown above were taken in March 2026. On 5 March 2026, the Burma Army entered Aa--- village and Ab--- village, Htee Poo Loo village tract, Ler Doh (Kyaukkyi) Township, Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin) District. While entering the villages, the Burma Army conducted shelling and air strikes, killing at least 26 villagers and injuring many more, fatally shot five villagers, detained hundreds of villagers, and looted and destroyed villagers’ properties. Due to this incident, the villagers in Htee Poo Loo village tract displaced to other towns and villages. The two photos on the top and the photo on the bottom left show Ab--- villagers, who were injured by mortar shell shrapnel, hospitalised in Ah--- clinic, Law Muh Thaw village tract, Ler Doh Township. The photo on the bottom right shows some of the villagers displaced in Aq--- village monastery, Kyun Gyi village tract, Ler Doh Township. [Photos: KHRG]

Footnotes:

[1] The present document is based on information received in March 2026. It was provided by a community member in Kler Lwee Htoo District who has been trained by KHRG as a researcher 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: #26-90-I1, #26-90-A1-I1, #26-90-A2-I1, #26-90-A3-I1, #26-90-A4-I1, and #26-90-M1.

[2] The terms Burma military, Burma Army, SAC, Tatmadaw, and junta are used interchangeably throughout this report to describe the Burma military regime’s armed forces. Villagers themselves commonly use Burma Army, Burmese soldiers, or alternatively the name adopted by the Burma military regime at the time —from the 2021 coup to July 2025, the State Administration Council (SAC). On 31 July 2025, the military junta changed its name to the 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] ‘Ma’ is a Burmese female honorific title used before a person’s name.

[5] The majority ethnic group in Myanmar, also known as ethnic Burmese or Burman.

[6] ‘Maung’ is a Burmese male honorific title used before a person’s name.

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

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

[9] 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.

[10] An Infantry Battalion (IB) comprises 500 soldiers. However, most 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. They are primarily used for garrison duty but are sometimes used in offensive operations.

[11] The People’s Defence Force (PDF) is an armed resistance established independently as local civilian militias operating across the country. Following the 1 February 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 5 May 2021 as a precursor to a federal army.

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

[13] 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.

[14] Villagers displaced to many locations, so KHRG is unable to confirm all the locations villagers fled to.

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Air strikes
Arbitrary arrest and detention
Arbitrary taxation and demands
Attacks on villagers
Attacks on villages
Ceasefire
Compensation for abuse
Concealment of abuse
Coup
Covid-19
Denial of humanitarian access
Destruction of property
Development project
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Disappearance
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Economic hardship
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Right to education
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Shoot-on-sight
Strategic Displacement
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Violations of children's rights
Violent abuse

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