Wed, 03 Dec 2025
Photo Set: SAC air strikes on civilian areas, resulting in casualties, destruction, and displacement (January to December 2024)
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This Photo Set shows photographic evidence of State Administration Council (SAC) air strikes conducted on civilian areas in Southeast Burma, including villages and plantations, from January to December 2024. During the reporting period, KHRG has received extensive information on SAC direct and indiscriminate drone and air strikes on villagers’ areas and their consequences on villagers’ lives; one of the largest reported issues since the 2021 coup. These air strikes killed and wounded villagers, destroyed their houses, community buildings, and plantations, and caused massive displacement. These attacks also caused persistent fear, restricted access to education and healthcare, and increased the risk of unexploded ordnance (UXO) contamination in civilian areas. Because of the air strikes, villagers cannot work on their farms and plantations to secure their livelihoods and have sought refuge in the jungle and in caves.

 

Photo Set: Air strike incidents resulting in death, injuries, destruction, and displacement, from January to December 2024

KHRG has received more than 1,142 photos of the destruction and harm caused by State Administration Council (SAC)[1] air strikes, from January to December 2024, in the seven districts of locally-defined Karen State[2]: Doo Tha Htoo (Thaton), Taw Oo (Toungoo), Kler Lwee Htoo (Nyaunglebin), Mergui-Tavoy, Mu Traw (Hpapun), Dooplaya, and Hpa-an districts. During 2021-June 2024, KHRG recorded 227 air strike incidents in Karen State, which killed at least 168 villagers and injured 249 others. Ninety-three of these incidents took place during January-June 2024 alone.[3]

In 2024, SAC soldiers conducted air strikes in the areas surrounding their army camps, in areas without fighting, and in areas outside of their control. A high number of air strikes were conducted on protected buildings such as those inside the compounds of medical clinics, churches, and schools, as well as villagers’ homes, farms, and plantations. This Photo Set includes 61 of these photos, as evidence of immediate and protracted impacts faced by local villagers in the aftermath of SAC air strikes in Southeast Burma. From the selection, 42 still photographs were taken by local community members trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions in their areas, and 19 were taken by local villagers.

 

 

 

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

 
Wed, 03 Dec 2025

Footnotes: 

[1] The State Administration Council (SAC) is the executive governing body created in the aftermath of the February 1st 2021 military coup. It was established by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on February 2nd 2021, and is composed of eight military officers and eight civilians. The chairperson serves as the de facto head of government of Burma/Myanmar and leads the Military Cabinet of Myanmar, the executive branch of the government. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of SAC chairperson following the coup. The military junta changed its name on July 31st 2025 to State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC).

[2] Karen State, defined locally, includes the following areas: Kayin State, Tanintharyi Region and parts of Mon State and Bago Region. Karen State, located in Southeastern Burma, is primarily inhabited by ethnic Karen people. Most of the Karen population resides in the largely rural areas of Southeast Burma, living alongside other ethnic groups, including Bamar, Shan, Mon and Pa’O.

[3] KHRG, ကဘီယူၤဟဲလံ Aircraft coming! : Impacts of air strikes on local communities and villagers’ protection strategies in Southeast Burma since the 2021 coup. November 2024.

[4] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.

[5] The Karen Education and Culture Department is the education department of the Karen National Union. Its main goals are to provide mother tongue education services to rural Karen populations in Southeast Myanmar, as well as to preserve the Karen language, culture and history. Despite being an important education provider in the region, it is not officially recognised by the Myanmar government.

[6] A Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) comprises 500 soldiers. Most Light Infantry Battalions 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.

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

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

[9] KHRG, “Taw Oo District Short Update: SAC air strikes killed four villagers and injured nine, including children, in Daw Hpah Hkoh Township (February 2024)”, June 2024.

[10] Special Areas or Special Regions are areas that are under KNU-control or mixed-control with the Burma Army. Following the 2021 coup that reinvigorated the armed conflict in Southeast Burma, the KNU has claimed back some of these areas after seizing them or after the withdrawal of SAC troops or SAC administration. The KNU refers to these areas as Special Areas or Special Regions as they are not formally under KNU administration, but in the process of forming their governance. The SAC also refers to areas in Southeast Burma as Special Areas. This refers to areas that they do not have full control over.

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

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

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Type:
Photo Sets
Issue: Air strikes, Destruction of property, Displacement, Injury, Killing
Location:
Karen Districts, Toungoo (Taw Oo) District, Thaton (Doo Tha Htoo) District, Nyaunglebin (Kler Lwee Htoo) District, Mergui-Tavoy District, Hpapun (Mutraw) District, Hpa-an District, Dooplaya District
Year:
2024

Related Readings

Photo Set: Villagers’ displacement in Southeast Burma, and reported challenges, from January to October 2024.
Photo Set: Destruction of civilian livelihoods in Southeast Burma due to military attacks, December 2023 to December 2024
Photo Set: SAC air strikes on civilian areas, resulting in casualties, destruction, and displacement (January to December 2024)