Loss of a Ranger: Saw Aung Htoo

4 April 2022

Karen State, Burma

We are sad to announce that the Burma Army shot and killed one of our medics, Saw Aung Htoo on 24 March 2022, in Karen State. Saw Aung Htoo was married with two children and his loss is a great tragedy for us all. He was a medic on the Karen State Dooplaya District team. He attended the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) training camp in 2013. Saw Aung Htoo served primarily as security and a medic on his FBR mission team. He was a good medic. He also served in the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Battalion 17 as a medic after he completed FBR training. He was described as both a bold and a quiet person. He was very funny during the Good Life Club (GLC) programs and all the kids loved when he sang and danced during these programs. 

On 24 March 2022, the Burma Army began shooting at Saw Aung Htoo and the group he was walking with. Everyone tried to escape, but Aung Htoo was injured by a Burma Army mortar. According to his friends, Saw Aung Htoo tried to run and escape but was unable to. He stopped and shot back at the Burma Army, killing two Burma Army soldiers. The Burma Army then captured him alive.

His friends went to collect his body early in the morning of 25 March 2022. His body looked very bad and showed signs of severe torture. He was badly tortured before he died. Almost all parts of his arms and legs were broken, his intestines were spilled out, and part of the skin of his head was cut off.

His FBR team visited his wife and children. He has a six-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. The team tried to encourage them, but they could not speak much. Please pray for his family as they grieve his loss.

Thanks and God bless you,

Free Burma Rangers