Civilian shot at junta checkpoint in Minbya Twsp

By DMG 10 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
10 September 2022, Minbya

A civilian was injured when junta troops at a military checkpoint fired shots at two motorcycle riders near Yar Maung Bridge in Arakan State’s Minbya Township on Saturday morning. 

Ko Aung Chan Thar, 20, from Myit Nar Village was shot and injured, and another rider was detained by soldiers, according to a resident from a nearby village who asked for anonymity. 

“Soldiers at the security checkpoint near Hpar Pyo Village signaled to them to pull over,” said the villager. “However, he [one of the motorcyclists] did not hit the brake immediately, and rode past the checkpoint. When they returned, [a junta soldier] fired shots at them. One of them was injured in his thigh, and the other one was not injured.” 

The two were then taken to a hilltop junta outpost, according to local residents. 

“One of them is from my village. However, I don’t know about the other one. We haven’t heard about them since,” a resident of Myit Nar Village told DMG at noon. 

The regime began checking vehicles and motorbikes at Yar Maung Bridge as of Friday, panicking local residents. 

DMG was unable to obtain comment from junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun about the detention of the two motorcyclists. 

The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army clashed heavily at times near Hpar Pyo Village in their 2018-2020 conflict, and junta troops have since been deployed on the hills near Yar Maung Bridge.