Teenager injured by gunfire in Rathedaung Twsp

By Hnin Nwe 31 Aug 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
31 August, Rathedaung

A teenage boy from Rathedaung Township, Arakan State, was injured by gunfire allegedly coming from a naval vessel in the Mayu River on August 31, according to family members of the victim.

The 17-year-old has been identified as Maung Hsan Hlaing Phyo from Zedipyin village in Rathedaung Township. The boy was hit by a stray bullet while sleeping at his relative’s home at about 11 a.m. on August 31, said Daw Hla Kyawt Nu, the victim’s mother.

“My son was sleeping at his aunt’s house at that time,” she told DMG. “My son was wounded by a bullet when the military opened small arms fire from a naval vessel although there had been no hostilities between the military and Arakan Army.”

The bullet penetrated the victim’s left leg and he is currently receiving medical treatment at Zedipyin’s rural hospital, family members said.

“My family earns a living by selling mont di,” Daw Hla Kyawt Nu said, referring to the Arakanese traditional dish of rice noodles in fish soup. “We are in trouble after my son was injured. I am now grappling with my business and [trips to the] hospital where the victim is being treated. I cannot close my shop selling mont di due to our livelihood hardship.”

The Lower House MP for Rathedaung Township, Daw Khin Saw Wai, said she had received a phone call about a civilian injured by gunfire but was not given specifics.

“A villager phoned me that a villager is receiving medical treatment at the Zedipyin hospital after being wounded by gunfire. Locals accused security personnel from a military naval vessel in the Mayu River of opening small arms fire on the village,” the lawmaker said.

DMG contacted Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun and Maj-Gen Tun Tun Nyi of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team seeking comment on the incident, but they could not be reached.

At least five people from in Kyaukyan Thazi village in Rathedaung Township were wounded when two artillery shells allegedly launched by the military landed and exploded in the village on August 22. A resident from Ngasanbaw village in Rathedaung Township was also injured by an artillery shell said to have been fired by the military on August 29.

Hostilities between the military and the Arakan Army have flared with regularity in western Myanmar since late 2018, and the number of civilians killed or wounded by landmines, errant artillery fire or other combat-adjacent violence continues to climb.