Villager hit by bullet in Minbya Twsp

By Aung Htein 27 Jul 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
27 July, Minbya

A 45-year-old man from Daunt Chay village in Minbya Township, Arakan State, was wounded by gunfire at about 3 p.m. on July 26, according to the victim.

U Tun Win was hit by a bullet believed to have been fired by security personnel from a military unit stationed on the Kyaung Taung mountain range while he and another man were heading to pasturelands near the mountains to bring cattle back to the village, the victim told DMG.

“I fell to the ground as soon as I was hit by a stray bullet. I felt like I was pushed by somebody,” he said.

The victim sustained a gunshot wound to his right thigh and was admitted to Minbya Hospital on July 26. He was subsequently transferred to Sittwe Hospital to undergo surgery as the bullet needed to be removed.

U Hla Aung Nyunt, an Arakan State lawmaker for Minbya Township, said some residents had informed him of reports of the injured man.

The victim is a resident of Daunt Chay village who is married to a woman from neighbouring Pharpyo village. He sought refuge in Daunt Chay after some homes in Pharpyo were set ablaze during hostilities between the military and the Arakan Army in May. He earns his living farming, the Arakan State MP said.

Due to the ongoing conflict in the region, local villagers are worried about their security as they tend to their farmlands and note the open-air exposure that the work in the fields brings.

DMG contacted Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun and Maj-Gen Tun Tun Nyi from the Tatmadaw True News Information Team seeking comment on the shooting victim’s accusation, but their mobile phones were switched off.

Also on July 26, four people from Thaekam Htaunt village in Arakan State’s Ann Township were wounded when two artillery shells landed and exploded in and near the village.