Type of Incident

[Shooting of civilians] A villager’s arm was injured because SAC soldiers shot him while he was travelling.

Date of Incident(s)

October 30th 2023

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

Ka Lee Hkee (Hkoh Kwar) army camp, Waw Loo village tract,[2] Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District.

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] A---

Age

35 years old

Gender

Man

Ethnicity

Karen

Marital Status  

Married

Occupation

Daily labourer

Religion

Christian

Position

- [villager]

Village

B--- village, Waw Loo village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township, Dooplaya District.

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

State Administration Council (SAC)[4] Light Infantry Division (LID)[5] #44;

Border Guard Forces (BGF)[6] Battalion #1023, Cantonment #4

Ka Lee Hkee (Hkoh Kwar) camp

Major Eh Htoo;

Captain Wa Shin Tan [both BGF]

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

[The KHRG researcher] got to know about this incident from a villager from D--- village, Noh T'Kaw village tract, who [was at Ka Lee Hkee army camp at the time of the incident and] transported the victim [, after he was injured]. [Afterwards, the researcher conducted interviews with another villager who witnessed this incident, named Saw C---, and the victim’s cousin.]

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The researcher interviewed Saw C---, one of the villagers who experienced this incident, and [verified the information by also interviewing] the victim’s cousin.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On October 30th 2023, villagers from B--- village, Waw Loo village tract, Noh T'Kaw Township, Dooplaya District, were transporting elephant foot yams [a vegetable used in local cuisine] with two trucks in order to sell them in Mawlamyine Town. Before they went up to [Ka Lee Hkee (Hkoh Kwar)] hill, [where BGF Battalion #1023, Cantonment #4, and SAC LID #44 army camp is located], they passed a car that was returning on that road and asked whether they could go [pass through Ka Lee Hkee camp] or not. After that, they continued their journey until they reached the [camp’s] checkpoint. One of the villagers, Saw C---, from B--- village, Waw Loo village tract, explained to KHRG: “Actually, we waited for them [SAC and BGF soldiers] to come [to the checkpoint] and collect the gate fee. After a few minutes, no one came and collected the fee. Then, we honked the truck’s horn [as a warning noise], but no one came. I thought maybe the situation was not good [something might happen], so I went to the truck and drove it. When we drove [the first truck] about 20 yards [18 meters] past the gate, they [SAC soldiers] shot at us [with machine guns].”

In this incident, a 35-year-old villager, Saw A---, from B--- village, was injured. While [the first truck had already passed the checkpoint gate, and the second truck was still at the gate,] Saw A--- was about to open the truck’s door, when SAC soldiers at the top of the hill camp shot at him. He was shot on his right arm and fell down in front of the gate. [After the victim was shot,] a villager from D--- village, Noh T'Kaw village tract, Noh T’Kaw Township, took the victim away from the gate by motorcycle [to a nearby Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA)[7] checkpoint]. After that, a DKBA leader, General Nay Lah, sent the victim to Seik Gyi Town hospital. Saw C--- explained: “He [Saw A---] put his arm on the truck’s door. During the shooting, the [second] truck driver said he had doubts about whether he should go [continue driving] or not. The driver stopped the truck and asked Saw A--- to get out of the truck to put a chock under the [truck] wheel because the road is a slope. Saw A--- was [shot and] injured when he was about to open the truck’s door. As soon as he was injured, [a villager took him to the DKBA checkpoint a few minutes away from Ka Lee Hkee camp and] we asked for help from a [DKBA] soldier. The civilians [nearby] dared not transport him [to the hospital] because they did not know whether he was three fingers [People’s Defence Force (PDF)[8]], DKBA, or Karen National Union (KNU)[9]. Actually, we are civilians. We asked for help from the DKBA, and a soldier contacted his company commander. At that time, the company commanders, Nae Klar and Nay Lah, were coming [to the DKBA checkpoint]. So they [the commanders] took him to the [Seik Gyi] hospital”.

As soon as the victim arrived at the hospital, a health worker came immediately. Due to the fact that the victim was injured by a bullet, he needed an X-ray, but Seik Gyi hospital is unable to provide treatment [due to a lack of capacity]. The victim stayed at Seik Gyi hospital for one night. Saw C--- continued: “We called the ambulance, but the ambulance crew dared not transport the victim. The next day, the company commander [DKBA] scolded the ambulance crew and said ‘you guys dared to transport the soldiers who were injured, but not civilians.’ Later, we rented another car [found someone to drive the victim], and the victim was sent [to Mawlamyine].”

The victim was sent to Mawlamyine Town on October 31st 2023, and sought treatment at Mawlamyine Hospital. He has not yet been discharged from the hospital [as of November 2023]. The victim has two children, and his wife is pregnant. The victim was the breadwinner of his family. Therefore, after he got injured, his family faced problems, and they moved to E---village, Poh Yay village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, and stayed with his wife’s parents. The victim’s family did not receive any support [from any organisations as of November 2023].

After this incident, the villagers were afraid to travel on that road. Saw C--- added: “If it was possible, I would not use this road for travelling anymore. However, we only have this comfortable [paved] road to travel, so we need to use it. We dare to travel only when many people are travelling.” The villagers do not want to travel on this road, but they have to use it for their livelihood.

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

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