Man killed by junta shelling in Buthidaung Twsp

By DMG 18 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
18 October 2022, Buthidaung
 
A local man from Daingnetpyin (Muslim) Village in Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township was fatally wounded when an artillery shell fell and exploded in the village at about noon on October 18, with the victim reportedly dying at Buthidaung Hospital while receiving medical treatment that evening.
 
Mahmed Inis, a 40-year-old Muslim man, sustained shrapnel wounds to his chest and abdomen about one mile west of the village, and succumbed to his injuries in hospital at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, a family member told DMG.
 
“He was seriously injured by shrapnel while going to his betel nut farm. He died at Buthidaung Hospital this evening. We heard an exchange of gunfire today,” the family member added.
 
Myanmar military and allied Border Guard Force troops near Kinchaung Village fired heavy weapons into residential areas without any reported fighting with the Arakan Army in the area on Tuesday, locals said.
 
“I want the armed forces not to fire heavy weapons into the village,” said a resident of Daingnetpyin Village. “Some civilians have been wounded and forced to flee to safer locations when heavy weapons have been fired. I would like to urge the armed groups not to fight near the village and fire heavy weapons into its residential areas.”
 
U Khaing Thukha, spokesman for the Arakan Army (AA), confirmed that there were no hostilities involving the ethnic armed group in Buthidaung Township on Tuesday.
 
DMG phoned Major-General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for Myanmar’s military regime, and Colonel Kyaw Thura, Arakan State minister for Security and Border Affairs, regarding Tuesday’s shelling near the Buthidaung Township village, but they could not be reached.
 
“The military’s heavy weapons fire is truly a brutal act,” said U Pe Than, a former Arakan State lawmaker for Myebon Township. “It is not appropriate for the military to attack the places where the ULA/AA troops are stationed and to fire heavy weapons into residential areas.”
 
Three people died and six others were injured by junta artillery strikes in Arakan State’s Minbya Township on Monday, according to local residents. Among the victims were children and a schoolteacher.