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Print:This Incident Report describes events occurring in Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District. On 11 May 2025, before 10:30 pm, Burma Army soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 intruded into Aa--- village, Hper Htee village tract, while they were drunk and banged on the door of a villager’s home, demanding the villager open the door. Then, at around 10:30 pm, they fatally shot a 17-year-old villager named Saw A---, while he was going to his parents’ betelnut plantation field in Aa--- village to stay the night. The next morning, villagers found his body, face black and blue from bruising, with multiple gunshot wounds to his body. He was later buried in his village.[1]
Part 1 – Incident Details
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Type of Incident |
Fatal shooting. |
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Date of Incident(s) |
11 May 2025 |
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Incident Location (Village, Township and District) |
Aa--- village, Hper Htee village tract,[2] Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District. |
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Victim Information |
|
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Name |
Saw[3] A--- |
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Age |
17 years old |
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Gender |
Boy |
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Ethnicity |
Karen |
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Marital Status |
Single |
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Occupation |
Farmer |
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Religion |
Christian |
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Position |
Villager |
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Village |
Ab--- Village, Hper Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District |
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Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors) |
||||
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Name(s) |
Rank |
Unit |
Base |
Commander’s Name |
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Unknown |
Unknown [Burma Army[4] soldiers] |
Infantry Battalion (IB)[5] #73 |
Sha Say Bo army camp, Zayat Gyi Town, Htaw Ta Htoo Township, Taw Oo District |
Unknown |
Part 2 - Information Quality
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1. Explain in detail how this information was collected. |
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Saw B---, who has a position in the Htaw Ta Htoo Township Court, informed a KHRG researcher [of the incident]. Then, the researcher conducted an interview with Saw A---’s sister-in-law in March 2026. |
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2. Explain how the source verified this information. |
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The interviewee, Naw[6] C---, confirmed that the corpse was Saw A---’s, and she was his sister-in-law. Another Htaw Ta Htoo Township administrator [who confirmed the incident to the researcher] was a relative of Saw A---. Thus, this information is verified. |
Part 3 – Complete Description of the Incident
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Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. |
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In May 2025, Tatmadaw [Burma Army] soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 arrived at Sha Say Bo army camp, which is located close to the Aa--- village, Hper Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District. As the soldiers were new to the village, they often did reconnaissance [in Aa--- village] to explore the situation of the village.
The next morning, the villagers found a dead body lying on the ground. The head was beaten by a hard solid object; for instance, [the villagers hypothesised it was from] the butt of a gun. His face was a black and blue colour [bruised]. His abdomen was shot three times. No one was [initially] able to identify who he was. Then, Naw C--- [the sister-in-law of Saw A---] came to the see the corpse, and she confirmed that the motorbike, belongings in the bag including a phone, and the clothes on the corpse were Saw A---’s. The mother of Saw A--- firmly argued that her son was sleeping in the plantation field before she saw the dead body. However, after she saw the dead body, she was significantly emotionally affected. [Saw A--- was later buried in his village.]
When [the researcher] talked to the village head of Aa--- village, he said that prior to the incident, on that same night, the Tatmadaw soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 intruded into Aa--- village and demanded a villager, who lived in the upper part of the village, to open the door of her shop [also her home]. The soldiers kicked the door and banged on it with their guns. The villager did not open the door, as she was too scared to open it. Based on this incident, villagers drew the conclusion that the soldiers were drunk.
The family members of Saw Aa--- wanted to report his case to seek justice. However, they knew that no one would take action on this incident; thus, they did not report the case anywhere. [The family members believed this because in the past, on an unknown date, two brothers were killed near Aa--- village, yet no one took action regarding it. The Burma Army frequently does not address violations committed by soldiers, and the Karen National Union (KNU)[7] justice system is unable to hold Burma Army soldiers accountable for crimes.] Due to the incident, villagers felt insecure to go and work in their plantation fields, and villagers felt scared to go out at night. |
Part 4 - Permission for Using the Details
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Did the victim(s) provide permission to use this information? Explain how that permission was provided. |
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The interviewee, named Naw C---, is a teacher at a KECD [Karen Education and Culture Department][8] school. She allowed KHRG to use her audio interview and the information, because she wants civilians to know that the Tatmadaw soldiers killed an innocent villager, not their enemy [a military target], without any reason. |
Further background reading on fatal shootings in Southeast Burma/Myanmar can be found in the following KHRG reports:
- “Why would they target us?”: Exploring patterns of the Burma Army's retaliatory abuses against villagers across Southeast Burma, June 2023.
- “Taw Oo District Short Update: SAC soldiers shot and injured a villager, and conducted shelling and an air strike causing destruction, in Htaw Ta Htoo and Daw Hpah Hkoh townships (January to March 2025)”, August 2025.
- “Taw Oo District Short Update: SAC shot dead a minor and arbitrarily arrested, detained and tortured a villager in Htaw Ta Htoo Township (May 2024)”, July 2024.
KHRG received this photo from a villager in March 2026. On 11 May 2025, Burma Army soldiers from Infantry Battalion (IB) #73 fatally shot a 17-year-old boy named Saw A--- in Aa--- village, Hper Htee village tract, Htaw Ta Htoo (Htantabin) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District, while he was on his way to spend the night at his family’s betelnut plantation. The photo shows Saw A---’s dead body. His face was covered with bruises, and he was shot three times. He was buried in his village. [Photo: Local villager]
Footnotes:
[1] The present document is based on information received in March and May 2026. It was provided by a community member in Taw Oo District who has been trained by KHRG as a researcher to monitor human rights conditions on the ground. The names of the victims, their photos and the exact locations are censored for security reasons. The parts in square brackets are explanations added by KHRG. This document combines several received reports with the following KHRG internal log numbers: #26-98-I1; #26-98-D1; #26-98-A1-I1; #26-98-M1; and #26-98-P1.
[2] A village tract is an administrative unit of between five and 20 villages in a local area, often centred on a large village.
[3] ‘Saw’ is a S’gaw Karen male honorific title used before a person’s name.
[4] The terms Burma military, Burma Army, SAC, Tatmadaw, and junta are used interchangeably throughout this report to describe the Burma military regime’s armed forces. Villagers themselves commonly use Burma Army, Burmese soldiers, or alternatively the name adopted by the Burma military regime at the time —from the 2021 coup to July 2025, the State Administration Council (SAC). On 31 July 2025, the military junta changed its name to the State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC).
[5] An Infantry Battalion (IB) comprises 500 soldiers. However, most Infantry Battalions in the Tatmadaw are understrength 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. They are primarily used for garrison duty but are sometimes used in offensive operations.
[6] ‘Naw’ is a S’gaw Karen female honorific title used before a person’s name.
[7] The Karen National Union (KNU) is the main Karen political organisation. It was established in 1947 and has been in conflict with the government since 1949. The KNU wields power across large areas of Southeast Myanmar and has been calling for the creation of a democratic federal system since 1976. Although it signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in 2015, following the 2021 coup staged by Burma Army leaders, the KNU officially stated that the NCA has become void.
[8] The Karen National Union's 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.
