Shelling kills Muslim woman in Kyauktaw Twsp village

By DMG 18 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
18 October 2022, Kyauktaw
 
A Muslim woman was reportedly killed by a shelling in Paikthel Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, at about 8 p.m. on October 17.
 
Heavy weapons and small arms fire were reportedly heard in downtown Kyauktaw since 7 p.m. on Monday. Yahmina, a 30-year-old Muslim woman, was hit by shrapnel after an artillery shell landed and exploded in Paikthel Village, a resident said.
 
“She [the victim] visited her mother’s home when heavy weapons and small arms fire were heard. She returned home as she was worried about her children. She was struck by shrapnel while returning home after an artillery shell landed and exploded in the village,” the resident elaborated.
 
Yahmina sustained shrapnel wounds to her right thigh and was pronounced dead at around 9 p.m. after being admitted to Apaukwa Hospital, according to Ko Maung Hla Tun, a local man.
 
“I was asked to send a woman injured by shelling and I transported the injured woman to a community clinic in the village,” he said. “We were told that she could not be treated at the village clinic. So we sent the injured woman to Apaukwa Hospital. I was informed about her death when I arrived back home.”
 
The Myanmar military’s No. 9 Military Operations Command headquarters and junta troops stationed on Kyauktaw Hill have a history of firing heavy weapons into nearby villages, say residents.
 
“The military troops used to fire heavy weapons into the residential areas. We have heard gunfire and heavy weapons fire from four corners. We cannot predict where the artillery shell was fired from,” said a resident of Paikthel Village, which is located just five minutes’ walk from downtown Kyauktaw.
 
A 7-year-old boy from Nagara Village in Kyauktaw Township was killed by a junta shelling on September 26. Four people were injured in Nagara Village, Kyauktaw Township, when their house was struck by an artillery shell fired by junta troops on September 20.