11 civilians killed by junta over three days in Arakan State

By Admin 12 Jan 2024

DMG Newsroom
January 12, 2024

Eleven civilians were killed and 12 others were injured in the three days from January 9-11 in Arakan State by junta attacks.

Among the victims were four in Mrauk-U, two in Kyauktaw and five in Minbya. Two each were injured in Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U and Pauktaw, and one in Maungdaw.

In Minbya town, where junta troops and the AA are engaged in fierce fighting, junta soldiers entered Minbargyi Ward and gunned down at least four residents including two women and two men, aged 42, 50, 23 and 45 respectively.

“Junta soldiers entered the ward and shot dead civilians. Residents dare not retrieve their bodies. The fighting is fierce in Minbya town,” said a Minbya resident.

In its statement issued on Thursday, artillery shells fired by junta warships hit Minbargyi Ward, burning some houses. Some troops from the Navy entered the town and torched other houses, said the statement.

One resident was killed and five civilians including a monk were injured by a junta artillery strike on Wednesday in Hpar Pyo Village, Minbya Township.

A 24-year-old man in Bawdhigon Village, Maungdaw Township, was injured by an artillery shell fired by Border Guard Police Battalion No. 5 on Thursday. Two men in Thawinchaung Village, Pauktaw Township, were also injured the same day.

“The regime bombards every day across Arakan State. People are injured every day. It is an inhumane act to target civilians,” said one Arakan State resident.

On Wednesday, two residents from Apaukwa Village in Kyauktaw Township were killed by an artillery shell fired by the junta’s Battalion No. 539.

“There was no fighting that day. It was an unprovoked attack by a junta battalion based on Mount Kan Sauk,” said a resident of Apaukwa Village.

Four civilians were killed and two others were injured by junta strikes in Mrauk-U on Tuesday. A farmer from Diparyone Village in Ponnagyun Township was injured by a junta artillery strike the same day.

A woman from Diparyone Village said: “Junta troops fire shells whether there is fighting or not. It is not safe anywhere. They should not target civilians.”

Civilian casualties in Arakan State continue to rise since renewed fighting broke out between the regime and the AA on November 13.