Type of Incident

Shoot-on-sight and killing

Date of Incident(s)

March 12th 2023

Incident Location

(Village, Township and District)

A--- village, Inbala village tract[2], Hsaw Htee Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District

Victim Information

Name

Saw[3] Be Thein

Age

44

Sex

Male

Ethnicity

Karen

Family [status] 

Widower

Occupation

Farmer

Religion

Buddhist

Position

-

Village

A--- village, Inbala village tract, Hsaw Htee Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Name(s)           

Rank

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Unknown

Unknown

Light Infantry Division (LID)[4] #77, #88, #44, #33, and Infantry Battalion (IB)[5] #57, #350, #264, #91, and #20

Shwegyin Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District

Unknown

1. Explain in detail how you collected this information.

On March 27th 2023, a KHRG researcher went to the incident’s location for documentation and conducted an interview with a villager who found Saw Be Thein’s corpse.

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

Local authorities and villagers who found Saw Be Thein’s corpse reported this issue to a KHRG field researcher

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail. For each incident, be sure to include 1) when the incident happened, 2) where it happened, 3) what happened, 4) how it happened, 5) who was involved, and 6) why it happened. Also describe any villager response(s) to the incident, the aftermath and the current living situation of the victims. Please use the space prepared below, and create an attachment if needed.

On March 12th 2023, the combined armed forces of the State Administration Council (SAC)[6] Infantry Battalion (IB) #57, #350, #264, #91, #20 and Light Infantry Division (LID) #77, #88, #44, #33 conducted an offensive operation across four village tracts in Hsaw Htee Township, Kler Lwee Htoo District, in a Karen National Union (KNU)[7]-controlled area. On March 13th 2023, at around 10:00 am in the morning, a villager named Saw Be Thein and his two friends, three villagers from A--- village, Inbala village tract, who had returned [on motorbike] to their village [from an internally displaced persons (IDPs) site] to check their home, were on their way out of the village when they ran across SAC soldiers involved in the offensive operation.

The SAC soldiers fired gunshots at them [while the three villagers were on the motorbike], so the three villagers left the motorbike and fled [on foot]. [While fleeing], Saw Be Thein was shot in the back and his two friends escaped. The two friends heard Saw Be Thein cry for help but were too afraid to go back and pick him up, as the place where Saw Be Thein fell was near the [temporary] SAC army camp. Villagers believe that Saw Be Thein did not die on the spot. The SAC troops were stationed near A--- village for two [more] days.

On March 15th 2023, while the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[8] was clearing the area [of possible landmines after the SAC troops left], Saw Be Thein was found dead [outside of A--- village; where he fell after being hit], wearing different clothes, with [bullet] injuries to his head and brain and wounds on his back. The clothes he was wearing when his body was found are not the clothes he was wearing when he was last seen. Saw Be Thein was dressed in an ill-fitting KNLA uniform that was too small for him, since he is big and tall. [KNU] Local authorities [and local villagers] assumed that the SAC arrested Saw Be Thein after he had been shot and was unable to flee. The SAC soldiers changed his clothes and executed him by shooting him in the head.

[As of March 2023,] Saw Be Thein’s family members are not living in the village. Saw Be Thein’s brother took Saw Be Thein’s two daughters with him to the mountains, where he lives.

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

The local authorities and villagers who found Saw Be Thein’s corpse have allowed KHRG to share this report.