This Situation Update describes events occurring in Kaw Thay Der village tract,[2] Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District, from January to March 2026. Kaw Thay Der village tract has fewer cases of human rights violations [compared to other village tracts] because it is located far away from the SSPC [State Security and Peace Commission[3] also known as Burma Army][4]-controlled area.
Human rights violations occurred when Burma Army soldiers rotated
There are five SAC [State Administration Council][5] camps in Kaw Thay Der village tract: Bu Ser Hkee army camp, Kaw Thay Der army camp, Koe Day army camp, Baw G’Lee army camp, and Tit Say Taung army camp. In Kaw Thay Der village tract, not much fighting has taken place, so SAC soldiers come into the village [tract] to purchase food, and they usually walk around in the village tract. Once a month, the SAC rotates soldiers from one camp to another camp and sends rations to their army camps. When the soldiers were doing their rotation, they trespassed through villagers’ plantations instead of using the village road, and the soldiers plucked and pulled out cardamom trees and ate and destroyed durians and betelnuts from the villagers’ plantation fields. In addition, when the soldiers found villagers in the plantation fields, they forced villagers to walk with them [as human shields] and they also threatened them. Thus, the soldiers’ rotations have become a challenge for the villagers.
In Kaw Thay Der village tract, there are Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[6] soldiers administered by the KNU [Karen National Union].[7] Once a month, when the SAC soldiers transport rations into their army camps, the KNLA attacks the SAC soldiers with tripwire mines. [For instance,] on 20 March 2026, the KNLA attacked the SAC soldiers with tripwires [that the KNLA could trigger to detonate] at a garbage dumping site, which is located between Aa--- village and Ab--- village, Kaw Thay Der village tract. A villager reported that, due to the attack, five SAC soldiers sustained injuries, and two lamp posts were damaged. However, there was no intense fighting in Kaw Thay Der village tract.
Economic challenges in Kaw Thay Der village tract
Villagers from Kaw Thay Der village tract regularly purchase their food and goods from Toungoo Town. There are five SAC checkpoints between Toungoo Town and Kaw Thay Der village tract. Villagers from Kaw Thay Der village tract, especially Ac---, Ad---, Ae---, and Af--- villages, are located very far away from towns. [The further the distance, the more tollgates there are that villagers have to cross.] The SAC soldiers at the checkpoints charged more money than they should have from passing merchants. So, the merchants increased the price of their goods [when they arrived at the village] to make a profit. Consequently, it has become more difficult for the villagers who already faced extreme financial issues. Additionally, the SAC soldiers [at the checkpoint] also looted food from the merchants and seized cars and motorbikes. All these factors have resulted in significant difficulties for the villagers. In addition, villagers have to pay tollgate fees to the KNU as well. Thus, the villagers faced livelihood and transportation challenges.
[The issue of tollgates and checkpoints demanding high fees from drivers happened not only in January to March 2026 but also in July 2025.] In July 2025, [on an unknown date,] having bought medicines, a villager from Ag--- village, Kaw Thay Der village tract, was returning from Toungoo Town to Ag--- village. When the villager arrived at the Baya Chay Yin tollgate, which is located on the Thandaunggyi road, [Burma Army soldiers from the gate] looted medicines which were bought by the villager and also threatened him by saying they would put him in jail. Then, they told him that he could pay money if he did not want to go to jail. So, the villager paid 30,000,000 kyats (14,285.71 USD[8]). Following the mid-year of 2025, villagers who travelled within Kaw Thay Der village tract encountered extreme difficulties while traveling. Medicines, oil, petrol, and rice were restricted from being transported [through the gate]. [However,] some drivers [secretly] carried some oil and rice [while driving through the gate]. When the soldiers from the gate found rice and oil in the car, they kept it for themselves. The soldiers also took fish and meats from the drivers without paying the drivers any compensation fee. [This tollgate continued to operate during the reporting period, and villagers remained concerned about crossing it.]
In October 2025, flooding and landslides happened in Toungoo Town and roads to towns were restricted. Most villagers from Kaw Thay Der village tract have durian and mangosteen plantations. These types of fruits have a short shelf life. [When these seasonal] fruits were ready to harvest, villagers did not get the chance to sell them as roads were still restricted for travel [during the reporting period] due to the landslide [and have many checkpoints]. This [transportation challenge] caused shortages of basic food such as rice, oil, and salt. As a result, stealing occurred more frequently within the village tract. It therefore became a challenge for the villagers to support their livelihoods.
Impact of the fuel crisis in Kaw Thay Der village tract
On 3 March 2026, the SAC released an announcement letter ordering a reduction in fuel consumption. The next morning numerous petrol stations shut down completely. However, a few petrol stations remained open and sold limited amounts of fuel. Before the announcement, a litre of fuel cost 3,000 kyats (1.43 USD); however, after the announcement, within a week, the price of a litre of fuel increased from 3,000 kyats to 6,000 kyats (1.43 USD to 2.86 USD), and after, 10,000 kyats (4.76 USD). At the moment [as of March 2026], in mountain areas, a litre of fuel cost 15,000 kyats (7.14 USD). In Toungoo Town, fuel stations sold limited fuel on particular dates, only to licensed motorbikes. The high price of fuel negatively impacted villagers’ livelihoods in Kaw Thay Der village tract. For instance, villagers used machines that required fuel to cut down trees and bushes on their hill farms before they did plantation work. Now [as of March] a litre of fuel cost 15,000 kyats (7.14 USD), and the daily labour fee also cost 15,000 kyats (7.14 USD) per person, excluding three meals a day. Thus, it was not worth it to hire a daily labourer, which caused extreme difficulties for villagers. Moreover, some villagers used to work as motorbike taxis, driving to far places, but after the fuel price changed, they stopped working.
Education challenges in Kaw Thay Der village tract
Before the dictatorship came to power [in the 2021 coup], there were only SAC government schools in Kaw Thay Der village tract. However, after the 2021 coup, KECD [Karen Education and Culture Department][9] schools were established in the village tract. Before, students did not know how to read or write in the Karen language. But now [after the 2021 coup], under the KECD curriculum, the students are able to read and write Karen very well, even though KECD schools have Karen subject classes only up to Grade 5.
Kaw Thay Der village tract has 16 villages, but it only has 11 schools: one high school, three middle schools, and seven primary schools. Those 11 schools’ curriculums were administered by the KECD. The schools received support from the KECD, students’ parents, and village heads. The schools are self-funded schools. When students finish high school in Kaw Thay Der village tract, they continue their education by going to Ah--- Junior College [administered by the KECD] in Ai--- village, Peh Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, and Aj--- school in Maw Nay Pwa village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township.
Teachers who work in the [KECD] schools are villagers who finished high school within the village or villagers who attended college. The teachers are volunteer teachers. However, the parents were not pleased with the volunteer teachers. They believed that the teachers who did not finish school would not be able to teach children properly. To illustrate, during the 2025-2026 school year there were 16 teachers at a middle school in Ag--- village. Teachers received 45,000 kyats (21.43 USD) per month from students’ parents; yet the teachers disregarded monetary concerns and continued teaching in schools voluntarily. However, teachers were discouraged to teach when they heard derogatory comments from some school commission members and some students’ parents. One of the school commissioners said that 13 out of 16 teachers submitted resignation letters. This environment had a negative impact on the students’ education. Teachers changed frequently, and it caused difficulties for students to study properly. Furthermore, it was hard for the school to employ 13 [replacement] teachers during the three months of summertime [March to May 2026]. Thus, some parents wanted to send their children to SAC schools, religious schools, and NUG [National Unity Government][10] schools in Toungoo Town. Parents who did not have money or did not have relatives in towns struggled financially to send their children to towns to study.
[Another issue occurred in] Ab--- school located in Ab--- village, Kaw Thay Der village tract, which has classes from Grade 1 to Grade 6, but there were only two teachers, so students did not get to study effectively. Additionally, inadequate books for students have become an obstacle to access education. Villagers could print books in towns; however, villagers were afraid to travel to towns because there are [Burma Army] checkpoints on the way.
Healthcare challenges in Kaw Thay Der village tract
Although there are 16 villages in Kaw Thay Der village tract, there are only two clinics: Ak--- clinic and Al--- clinic. Before the rise of the dictatorship, there was a hospital in Baw G’Lee Town. After the 2021 coup, many healthcare workers from Am--- hospital joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM)[11] causing a staff shortage. Thus, at the moment [as of March 2026], the hospital was closed. There were no doctors in the villages and medicines were not easily available for sale or purchase. Generally, villagers approached other villagers to receive treatment. Villagers who had advanced diseases approached the nearest hospitals in Toungoo Town to receive treatment. Some villagers who should have lived ended up dying because the distance between the villages and the hospitals was too far. In addition, villagers faced financial struggles to receive treatment. It was very challenging to access healthcare.
Further background reading on the situation in Taw Oo District in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports: