Type of Incident

[Air strike]. SAC [State Administration Council][2] air strikes injured three villagers.

Date of Incident(s)

March 22nd 2024, and March 27th 2024.

Incident(s) Location

(Village, Township, and District)

Ee--- monastery and Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract[3], Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District.

Victim(s) Information

Name

Saw[4] O---

Sai[5] T---

Naw[6] W---

Age

43 years old

29 years old

38 years old

Gender

Man

Man

Woman

Ethnicity

Karen

Karen

Karen

Marital Status  

Single

Single

Married

Occupation

Monk

Farmer

Unknown

Religion

Buddhist

Buddhist

Unknown

Position

Villager

Villager

Villager

Village

Kk--- village, Ma Htaw village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District

Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District

Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District

Perpetrator Information (Armed Actors)

Type of aircraft

Unit

Base

Commander’s Name

Y-12

Burma [State Administration Council (SAC)] Air Force

N/A

[General Htun Aung serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Burma (SAC) Air Force]

1. Explain in detail how this information was collected.

The first incident was reported by a local villager from Aa--- village, and a KHRG researcher went to meet him to document it. [The researcher met with one of the victims, Naw W---, and took photos of her injuries.] However, the researcher was unable to record all the details of the incident. Then, in January 2025 [specific date censored for security], the KHRG researcher travelled to a displacement site in Ma Htaw village tract to see the monk [the other injured villager] who had returned from receiving treatment. He then interviewed the monk to document further details about the incident that took place on March 22nd 2024. The second incident was reported by a local leader from Meh Klaw village tract [specific position censored for security], and in March 2024 [specific date censored], a KHRG field researcher went to Aa--- village to document the incident. [The researcher then informally interviewed a local Aa--- villager. He also briefly met with Sai T---, the injured villager, and took photos of the injury.]

2. Explain how the source verified this information.

The first source of information is the victim himself, who explained the incident [occurred on March 22nd 2024] that happened to him. The second source is a villager from Aa--- village, where the incident took place, who provided additional details about the incident [occurred on March 27th 2024], as he witnessed the events. [The researchers also met with the victims, who explained details of the incidents, and took photos of their injuries.]

Describe the Incident(s) in complete detail.

March 22nd 2024: SAC air strike injuring two villagers

On March 22nd 2024, at 6:15 am, an SAC aircraft (believed to be a Y-12) dropped bombs onto Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract, Bu Tho Township, Mu Traw District. One bomb landed behind the house of a villager named Sai R---, and another bomb landed inside the house compound of another villager named Naw W---, where tobacco drying racks were located. The shelves for [to dry the] tobacco [leaves] were destroyed. [Nearby] houses were damaged.

It [shrapnel of the explosion] also hit Naw W--- (38 years old) on the hip. The healthcare workers from the same village treated her injury in the village for free, as she was not seriously injured. After, Naw W--- went to live in Dd--- Town, Bu Tho Township.

On [the same] March 22nd 2024, at 4:30 pm, an aircraft (Y12 type) carried out another air strike, dropping bombs on Aa--- village again. In total, six bombs were dropped on that day.

Two of the bombs landed in the compound of Ee--- monastery, located in the village, causing severe head injuries to a monk named Saw O--- (known as U[7] B---), while he was walking around the monastery compound. He is 43 years old and from Kk--- village, Ma Htaw village tract, Dwe Lo Township, Mu Traw District. The monk was injured on the left side of his head, rendering him unconscious after the shrapnel of the explosion hit him.

The monastery followers [layman and laywoman not ordained] and healthcare workers [from Aa--- village] sent him to Hh--- hospital (located in Pay Kay village tract, Lu Thaw Township, Mu Traw District) on a hammock, as well as by boat and car [covering a trip of about two hours]. He was admitted to Hh--- hospital for one night. The next day, he was transferred to Ii--- hospital (located in Bu Tho Township) by car and boat, where he stayed for one to two days. After that, he was sent to Ss--- hospital, in Thailand. While at Ii--- hospital, one of the healthcare workers donated 4,000 baht [127 USD][8] to him. His [other] travel expenses and treatment costs were covered through the management of the local KNU [Karen National Union[9]] leaders. [Both Hh--- and Ii--- hospitals are administered by the Karen Department of Healthcare and Welfare (KDHW)[10].] In January 2025, he had already been discharged and returned to Mm--- site, an area where internally displaced villagers stay, located in the Ma Htaw village tract.

Following the incident that happened to him, the monk Saw O--- expressed: “I was in the monastery compound when I was injured. They [the SAC] should not have conducted air strikes on the monastery compound. They must maintain and care for religion. They should not fire onto religious [protected] places, whether schools or monasteries. […] I would like everyone to be able to live in peace in the future without suffering the same as I have.”

This [SAC attack] followed a drone strike conducted by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)[11] on the strategic hilltop base and the army bases of [SAC’s] Light Infantry Battalions (LIBs)[12] #340, #341, and #434, in Hpapun area.

March 27th 2024: SAC air strike injuring a villager

On March 27th 2024, at 2 pm, an SAC aircraft (believed to be a Y-12) dropped bombs [again] onto Aa--- village, Meh Klaw village tract.

The SAC air strike injured a villager named Sai T--- (29 years old), from Aa--- village. He sustained a minor back injury, as well as an injury on the buttocks [while he was at his home]. He received treatment at a designated facility in Meh Klaw village tract [run by the KDHW] for patients and injured individuals. After the incident, Sai T--- went to stay in Dd--- Town.

Difficulties during displacement:

When the KNU [KNLA] soldiers attacked the Bamar [Burma Army] Battalions [army camps], they informed the villagers who lived in Cc--- area, Meh Klaw village tract, in advance (in March  2024) that they should flee their villages. As the SAC aircraft conducted an air strike near their army camps, most of the Aa--- villagers and those in villages near the SAC army camps went [fled] to Dd--- and Ff--- towns, as well as to the forest. [The injured villagers had not yet displaced on the day of the incident.]

When the villagers were displaced in the forest, they suffered from stomachaches and sickness. They [patients] went to get treatment from soldiers [medics] who were present near them. The KDHW healthcare workers sometimes visited and cared [for the displaced villagers staying in the forest]. However, due to this situation [as villagers displaced in the forest], they still need support and care [including healthcare support] [as of January 2025].

The SAC threatened [the villagers] by continuously shelling [and conducting air strikes on] the villages, causing constant fear among the villagers.

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

The monk Saw O--- [, who was injured by the SAC air strikes,] and a villager from Aa---, who provided the information, allowed KHRG to use the information. [Sai  T--- and Naw W---, the other two victims, also provided consent to use the information.]