Type of Incident

Fatal shooting.

Date of Incident(s)

11 May 2025

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Aa--- village, Hper Htee village tract,[2] Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District.

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] A---

Age

17 years old

Gender

Boy

Ethnicity

Karen

Marital Status  

Single

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Christian

Position

Villager

Village

Ab--- Village, Hper Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown [Burma Army[4] soldiers]

Infantry Battalion (IB)[5] #73

Sha Say Bo army camp, Zayat Gyi Town, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

Saw B---, who has a position in the Htaw Ta Htoo Township Court, informed a KHRG researcher [of the incident]. Then, the researcher conducted an interview with Saw A---’s sister-in-law in March 2026.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The interviewee, Naw[6] C---, confirmed that the corpse was Saw A---’s, and she was his sister-in-law. Another Htaw Ta Htoo Township administrator [who confirmed the incident to the researcher] was a relative of Saw A---. Thus, this information is verified.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

In May 2025, Tatmadaw [Burma Army] soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 arrived at Sha Say Bo army camp, which is located close to the Aa--- village, Hper Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District. As the soldiers were new to the village, they often did reconnaissance [in Aa--- village] to explore the situation of the village.

On 11 May 2025, Saw A---, who lived in Ab--- village, Hper Htee village tract, planned to stay overnight at his parents’ betelnut plantation field in Aa--- village. Thus, at around 10 pm, he drove his motorbike from his house to the plantation field. At 10:30 pm, when he [likely would have] arrived at the Aa--- village, the Tatmadaw soldiers were scouting in the Aa--- village. That night [at around the same time], villagers heard the sound of guns firing; however, no one dared to go out and see what happened. [Villagers later concluded that] he was fatally shot by the soldiers.

The next morning, the villagers found a dead body lying on the ground. The head was beaten by a hard solid object; for instance, [the villagers hypothesised it was from] the butt of a gun. His face was a black and blue colour [bruised]. His abdomen was shot three times. No one was [initially] able to identify who he was. Then, Naw C--- [the sister-in-law of Saw A---] came to the see the corpse, and she confirmed that the motorbike, belongings in the bag including a phone, and the clothes on the corpse were Saw A---’s. The mother of Saw A--- firmly argued that her son was sleeping in the plantation field before she saw the dead body. However, after she saw the dead body, she was significantly emotionally affected. [Saw A--- was later buried in his village.]

When [the researcher] talked to the village head of Aa--- village, he said that prior to the incident, on that same night, the Tatmadaw soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 intruded into Aa--- village and demanded a villager, who lived in the upper part of the village, to open the door of her shop [also her home]. The soldiers kicked the door and banged on it with their guns. The villager did not open the door, as she was too scared to open it. Based on this incident, villagers drew the conclusion that the soldiers were drunk.

The family members of Saw Aa--- wanted to report his case to seek justice. However, they knew that no one would take action on this incident; thus, they did not report the case anywhere. [The family members believed this because in the past, on an unknown date, two brothers were killed near Aa--- village, yet no one took action regarding it. The Burma Army frequently does not address violations committed by soldiers, and the Karen National Union (KNU)[7] justice system is unable to hold Burma Army soldiers accountable for crimes.] Due to the incident, villagers felt insecure to go and work in their plantation fields, and villagers felt scared to go out at night.

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

The interviewee, named Naw C---, is a teacher at a KECD [Karen Education and Culture Department][8] school. She allowed KHRG to use her audio interview and the information, because she wants civilians to know that the Tatmadaw soldiers killed an innocent villager, not their enemy [a military target], without any reason.