Teacher and child hurt when artillery shell strikes village

By Aung Htein 09 May 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
9 May, Kyauktaw

A teacher and child from Taung Bwe village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township were wounded when an artillery shell exploded in front of their house at around 9:30 p.m. on May 8, according to family members.

The shell struck when the teacher, 27-year-old U Oo Soe Thein, went outside his house to hide under it upon hearing the sound of gunfire, said his father U San Thein.

“As soon as my son heard the shooting, he tried to come down from the stairs, but the artillery shell exploded right in front of him. So, he was hit by shrapnel and injured his wrist. He got a serious injury. We don’t know whether he’ll need to have his hand amputated,” he said.

Eleven-year-old Ma Thaw Tar Phyo, who lives in the house next door to U Oo Soe Thein, was also injured less seriously on her eyebrow.

U Oo Soe Thein was sent to Kyauktaw Hospital, but was likely to be transferred to Sittwe General Hospital due to the severity of his wounds. Ma Thaw Tar Phyo was provided medical treatment at the village clinic.

Residents said they heard heavy artillery fire from a strategic Tatmadaw hill position in the area, which includes a handful of villages along the Kaladan River.

DMG phoned the Tatmadaw’s Western Command spokesperson Colonel Win Zaw Oo to inquire about Friday’s shelling, but he could not be reached.

Villagers remained frightened in the aftermath of the incident, said U Aung Than Win from Taung Bwe village.

“Our village is the only one on the western side of the Kaladan River. Villagers are living in fear. They go and hide in the bomb shelter whenever they hear a sound [of gunfire]. They run when they hear something even if they are mid-meal,” he said.

Currently, villagers from Myauk Taung, Tinma, Mala, Pyine Taing and Mote Than Pyin villages, which are located along the upper Kaladan River in Kyauktaw Township, are displaced due to clashes and heavy artillery fire in the area.
Since hostilities ramped up in December 2018, conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army in Arakan State has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and other forms of collateral damage due to landmine explosions, stray heavy weapons and small arms fire, and other combat-adjacent violence.