Artillery shell kills one, injures seven in Kyauktaw Township village

By Win Nyunt 11 Mar 2020

Win Nyunt | DMG
11 March, Kyauktaw

An artillery shell landed in Aung Thar Yar village, Kyauktaw Township, on the evening of March 10, killing a woman and injuring seven others, residents said.

Aung Thar Yar villager Ma Naing Naing Than, 20, was killed and fellow village resident Ma Yi Yi Than, 17, was injured, along with six war-displaced civilians from the neighboring villages of Mote Than Pyin and Pyaing Daing, including a 7-year-old and a 2-year-old.

A local said a clash broke out near the Kaladan River west of Aung Thar Yar village at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, with the artillery shell landing on the house the victims were in while they were having dinner.

Other villagers confirmed that fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army took place near the village on Tuesday, but they did not know which group fired the deadly ordnance.

Aung Thar Yar village was reportedly emptied by the shelling, with its 300 residents fleeing to nearby villages such as Kyaw Shwe Pyin, Lin Kway and Mee Wa for their safety, said U Kyaw Hlaing, a resident of Aung Thar Yar village.

“No one is left in the village,” he said.

The injured were sent to Kyauktaw hospital on the morning of March 11.

Fighting between the Tatmadaw and the AA in Arakan State has claimed the lives of more than 130 civilians and injured over 360, according to the Arakan Students Union (Universities - Yangon).