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This Short Update describes events occurring in Daw Hpah Hkoh (Thadaunggyi) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District in February 2024. On February 21st 2024, a State Administration Council (SAC) helicopter, from Toungoo air base, conducted an air strike on K--- village, Htee Day (Pi Tauk Kon) village tract, Daw Hpah Hkoh (Thadaunggyi) Township. Four villagers were injured, including two children, and an 85-year-old woman was killed. One injured victim was transferred to Naypyidaw city for treatment, where her leg was amputated. The SAC helicopter also conducted an airstrike on M--- village, Htee Day (Pi Tauk Kon) village tract, Daw Hpah Hkoh (Thadaunggyi) Township. In that incident, five villagers were injured and three villagers were killed, including two 8-year-old children. The air strike also damaged houses and plantations and killed livestock. There had been no fighting or armed forces’ movement in or near the village since the first quarter of 2023. Villagers feel devastated, traumatised and aggrieved.[1]
Air strike in K--- village, Htee Day village tract
On February 21st 2024, at 2 pm, an State Administration Council (SAC)[2] helicopter from Toungoo air base, located at the SAC Southern Command Headquarters (Ta Pa Ka) in Toungoo Town, dropped bombs on K--- village, section 3, in Htee Day (Pi Tauk Kon) village tract,[3] Daw Hpah Hkoh (Thadaunggyi) Township, Taw Oo (Toungoo) District. [Previously,] there had been no fighting or movement of armed forces in or near the village since the first quarter of 2023. Due to the air strike, four K--- villagers were injured by shrapnel, and an 85-year-old woman named Daw[4] L---, also from K--- village section 3, died immediately due to injuries to her head, abdomen, and chest. Daw L---’s skull was broken, and her abdomen perforated, expelling her intestines. A 35-year-old woman, named Daw C---, was injured on her leg and required an amputation. The other three injured villagers were Daw T---, a 35-year-old woman; Ma S---, a 12-year-old girl; and a child (unknown name), who is one-and-a-half years old. They are all ethnic Bamar[5] and Buddhist. These four injured villagers were transported by car to [a hospital in Yay Tal Shay Town, Bago Division. The hospital in Yay Tal Shay Town lacked resources to treat Daw C---, who required an amputation, so she was transferred to a hospital in] Naypyidaw city, which is [approximately] four hours away. [The injured villagers did not receive any support from any humanitarian organisation to cover treatment costs].
In addition, two houses, belonging to villagers named U[6] O--- and U J---, were hit by the shrapnel. Both villagers are Buddhist and of Bamar ethnicity, ages unknown. Some domestic animals were injured and died as well: a medium-sized cow, one dog, and some chickens died, three cows were injured, and two dogs lost their legs. Crops were destroyed due to the bomb [explosions] and shrapnel. [As explained by local villagers to the KHRG researcher,] the villagers feel devastated, traumatised, and aggrieved after experiencing the air strike.
Air strike in M--- village, Htee Day village tract
On February 21st 2024, at 2:15 pm, the helicopter from Toungoo air base, located at Southern Command Headquarters, conducted another air strike and dropped bombs on M--- village, Htee Day village tract, Daw Hpa Hkoh Township. One [bomb] landed and exploded on a villager’s house, where eight family members lived. Three [out of the eight members] died. The remaining five [family members] were injured. [The injured villagers went to a hospital in Yay Tal Shay Town, Bago Division, to receive treatment. They did not receive any assistance from any humanitarian organisation to cover treatment costs.] In addition, three cows were also killed. M--- villagers also expressed feeling traumatised after experiencing the air strike.