Several casualties in Pauktaw due to junta shelling, gunfire; AA pledges to retaliate

By Admin 17 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
17 November 2023, Pauktaw

At least 20 casualties were reported in Pauktaw, Arakan State, on November 16 due to a junta artillery bombardment and indiscriminate gunfire by regime soldiers, with the Arakan Army vowing retaliation for the killings.

An elderly man in his 80s was killed after a mortar shell fired by a Myanmar Navy vessel landed and exploded near Lawka Hteikpan Pagoda at about 5 p.m. on Thursday.

“He sustained shrapnel wounds to his abdomen at around 5 p.m. We couldn't send him to the hospital because junta soldiers were firing in downtown Pauktaw indiscriminately. He died at 11 p.m. yesterday. He has not been buried yet because many people fled to safer places,” said a family member of the deceased.

A junta helicopter and three warships have carried out a bombardment campaign that has forced thousands of Pauktaw residents to flee their homes since Thursday evening.

Junta soldiers shot dead at least 10 people who were taking shelter at Lawka Hteikpan Pagoda, an eyewitness told DMG.

“Some residents from downtown were taking refuge at Lawka Hteikpan Pagoda. Junta soldiers opened fire on residents at the pagoda, killing at least 10 people. We don’t know exactly the number of casualties because we dared not go to the scene. We fled the pagoda,” she added.

DMG is still investigating the exact number of casualties in Pauktaw.

Junta soldiers took positions across Pauktaw and the Myanmar Navy vessels frequently fired heavy weapons into residential areas, said a local resident.

“Junta soldiers have been deployed at the entries and exits of Pauktaw,” said a local who was trapped in downtown Pauktaw. “The Myanmar Navy vessels also fired mortar shells into the town. Skirmishes broke out between the military and Arakan Army in downtown Pauktaw yesterday.”

“The enemy [Arakan Army] retreated from Pauktaw when security forces arrived in Pauktaw in the afternoon of November 16. We have regained control of Pauktaw,” said junta spokesman Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun, who could not be reached for comment regarding civilian casualties in Pauktaw.

After the Arakan Army (AA) captured the Pauktaw Myoma police station, junta troops entered the town in large numbers, killing civilians who were hiding and committing war crimes, the ethnic armed group said in a statement on November 16.

The AA announced that it would retaliate against the junta for its killings of civilians in Pauktaw.

The Arakan Army captured Pauktaw Myoma police station and seized military equipment, weapons, some cash and documents on November 16, the group said in a statement.