15-year old Muslim boy injured by artillery shell

23 Jul 2019

Cha Lu Aung | DMG
23 July, Sittwe

A fight yesterday between the Tatmadaw and the AA resulted in a Muslim boy from Sin Thay Byin village receiving injuries, his father told the DMG.

The clash broke out in the evening near San Go Daung village, both sides exchanged fire for thirty minutes. Three artillery shells landed in Sin Thay Byin village last night at about 10 p.m. and the boy was injured.

“A shell fell near our house. My son was injured by a piece of shrapnel last night. We took him to Buthidaung hospital this morning,” said Chul La Mauk, father of the injured boy.

The 15-year old boy suffered from a slight injury to his back, said U Kyaw Min Tun, administrator of Buthidaung Township.

Sin Thay Byin is a Muslim village in San Go Daung village tract which includes six villages. 

Clashes often broke out near these villages. On 21 April, a pregnant woman from Sin Thay Byin village was hit by a stray bullet and her unborn baby was killed.

The AA said in a statement that a clash broke in a forest one kilometer from San Go Daung village in Buthidaung Township yesterday, the battle kicked off at about 2:30 p.m.

Civilians in Arakan State were injured and killed due to the clashes between the Tatmadaw and the AA, some of them are Muslims.

On 3 April, over ten Muslim people, who were harvesting bamboo near Sai Din creek, were injured in an attack by one of the Tatmadaw’s helicopters. The Tatmadaw said six Muslims died and another nine were injured when its troop attacked the AA. The Tatmadaw allegedly stated that the Muslims were together with the AA.

But in reality, a total of 11 Muslim workers were killed and 16 others injured in air strikes from the Tatmadaw’s helicopter attack near Sai Din creek on April 3 according to Abu Phway Yaw, an official from the Sai Din bamboo production plantation.

Since the ARSA attacked police outposts in Buthidaung and Maugndaw Townships in northern Arakan State in 2017, the Tatmadaw conducted regional clearance military operations that forced more than 700,000 Muslims to flee to Bangladesh, the UN and international organizations said.

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