Type of Incident

Shelling and injury

Date of Incident(s)

December 26th 2024

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Htwa Nee Koh village tract[2], Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] D---

Age

46 years old

Gender

Man

Ethnicity

Karen

Marital Status  

Married

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Animist

Position

-

Village

A--- village

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

-

-

[Unknown unit of] SAC [State Administration Council[4]]

Kwin Chaung Ywa army camp [located to the west of the Sittang river, in Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District.]

[Unknown]

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

After the incident occurred and the victim was taken to E--- Hospital [which is run by the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW)[5]], a nurse named Naw[6] B--- approached me [the KHRG researcher] about this incident. I [the researcher] then proceeded with the documentation [interviewing the victim’s brother, named Saw C---].

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

This information was given by the victim’s brother named Saw C---, who reached the victim when he [the victim] was injured during the incident. He then transported him [the victim] to the hospital.

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

On December 26th 2024, soldiers from the State Administration Council (SAC), based in Kwin Chaung Ywa army camp (located to the west of the Sittang River, Moo Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District), fired two howitzer rounds into A--- village, Htwa Nee Koh village tract, Moo Township. One round landed to the west of the village [outside], while the other landed near a 46-year-old man named Saw D---.

Saw D--- is originally from A--- village. His house is situated on the western side of A--- village, near the farmlands. On that evening [December 26th 2024], at around 7 pm, he decided to go searching for frogs in the nearby farmland to catch something for his dinner, as he had no curry to eat. While returning home, a shell landed [and exploded] near him, injuring his right leg and chin. In pain and fear, he screamed [for help].

After the incident occurred, his brother Saw C--- took him to the house of a nurse [unknown name and age] [located in A--- village]. His wound was wrapped by a KNLA [Karen National Liberation Army[7]] commander [who happen to be visiting the nurse]. Later, Saw C--- and the villagers accompanied him to the hospital in E--- village (in Kyaung Pya village tract, Moo Township), administered by the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW).

The doctors at the hospital also treated his wound, but his leg was not amputated that day due to his critically low blood count and lack of strength. However, on the next day, his leg was amputated. They [the doctors] informed Saw D---’s brother that he [Saw D---] needed prolonged treatment, as his condition was delicate and attempting to heal [operate on] all his wounds at the same time could be life-threatening. Despite the hospital’s shortage of medicine, [according to Saw C---] the doctors did their best to provide care.

According to Saw C--- [the brother of the victim]: “We planned to transfer him [Saw D---] to H--- hospital, but it is really far from here [A--- village]. We had to use our own [financial] resources to take him. If we had gone, we would have had to spend a night outside [travelling] before reaching H--- hospital”. [H--- hospital is administered by the Karen National Union (KNU)[8], and it is located in J--- Place, Kheh Pa Hta village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw (Hpapun) District]

During his treatment, his family had to purchase the medicine, which cost at least 500,000 kyat [USD 237.76][9] from I--- village (located in Haw Hkoh Ghaw village tract, Moo Township), due to the lack of medicine at the [E---] hospital.

The SAC soldiers sometimes fire shells into the village [A--- village] without any apparent reason or combat occurring [according to the KHRG researcher].[10] As a result, there are casualties and displacement. The villagers [from A--- village] are always cautious and worried. Some villagers do not dare to travel to their plantations to sustain their livelihoods. Additionally, the villagers always have to be careful about where they go [because of the shelling]. They were preparing [building] bunkers when the shelling [that injured Saw D---] happened.   

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

The victim [Saw D---] allowed KHRG to publish this information to let [people from] the world know about this incident.