Type of Incident

Arbitrary arrest and killing of a villager

Date of Incident(s)

October 25th 2023

Incident Location

B--- village and C--- village, K’Ser Hkler area, K’Ser Doh (Tha Yet Chaung) Township, Mergui-Tavoy District

Victim Information

Name

Ko[2] J---

Age

31 years old

Gender

Man

Ethnicity

Bamar

Marital Status

Unmarried

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

Unknown

Village

B--- village, K’Ser Hkler area, K’Ser Doh Township, Mergui-Tavoy District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

Infantry Battalion (IB)[3] #403

Tha Yet Chaung army camp

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

Upon reading the information on social media, a KHRG researcher promptly contacted the local authorities to document detailed information and interviewed a villager named Ko N--- who helped to retrieve the victim’s body.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The information is authentic as the villager who was interviewed, Ko N---, witnessed the incident first-hand and was involved in the retrieval of the victim’s body.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On October 25th 2023, State Administration Council (SAC)[4] Infantry Battalion (IB) #403, based in K’Ser Doh (Tha Yet Chaung) Town, were patrolling from their army camp to A--- village, K’Ser Hkler area, K’Ser Doh Township, Mergui-Tavoy District. On their way, as the SAC soldiers passed through B--- village, in K’Ser Hkler area, they arrested a villager named Ko J---, a 31-year-old man. The reason for his arrest is unknown.

Later that day, after the SAC soldiers had left the village, villagers went to search for Ko J---, as they saw he had been arrested. The villagers went in groups of five or seven people to search every part of the village and nearby areas. When they reached C--- village, K’Ser Hkler area, they saw a fresh mound of soil and perceived the smell of a corpse. The villagers found Ko J---’s buried body; he had been tied with rope around his neck and his hands had been tied behind his back. The villagers dug his body up to conduct a funeral committal service.

Villagers were afraid after this incident of the arrest and the killing of a villager by the SAC. Villagers sought safety by fleeing to nearby villages or towns to evade potential harm whenever they heard SAC troop movements near their village.

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

The villager interviewed about this incident gave permission for the information to be shared.