Tatmadaw probing deaths of two boys in Buthidaung Twsp: military spox

By Aung Htein 24 Oct 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
24 October 2020, Sittwe 

The military is investigating the killing of two children amid hostilities between government troops and the Arakan Army earlier this month in Pyinshay (Muslim) village, Buthidaung Township, according to Tatmadaw spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun.  

The Tatmadaw launched a probe soon after the two children’s deaths, he told the press on Saturday.  

“We began an investigation after their deaths so that we can identify weakness, if there is any,” the military spokesman added. 

On October 5, Tatmadaw troops allegedly forced the two boys and other villagers from Pyinshay to act as human shields against potential enemy attacks as the soldiers advanced through the area. The boys were found dead with gunshot wounds the following day after a clash broke out between the military and the AA. 

The Tatmadaw and the Arakanese ethnic armed group have traded blame for the deaths. 

The United Nations’ Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting (CTFMR) on October 14 released a statement calling for “a full, transparent, and expedited investigation of the incident and for anyone responsible for the use and for the killing of the children to be held accountable.” 

U Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association, said: “Children unnecessarily die in Arakan State. A few days ago, a child was fatally hit by an artillery shell and died on the spot in Mrauk-U. However, the Tatmadaw just denies responsibility for all those accidents. There is a need for accountability.” 

According to the UN Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Violations against Children in Myanmar, more than 100 children were killed or injured in conflict over the first three months of 2020, amounting to more than half of the total figure in 2019, and significantly surpassing the number of child casualties in all of 2018.