Military again blamed for injurious shelling, this time wounding two Ponnagyun Twsp villagers

19 Nov 2022

DMG Newsroom
19 November 2022, Ponnagyun

Two local men were injured after mortar shells landed and exploded in Yaybyukan Village, part of Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, on Saturday afternoon.

U Aye Win Maung, 33, sustained shrapnel wounds to the back of his head and U Win Maung was hit in the cheek, a village official told DMG.

“The military’s Ponnagyun-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 550 fired at least 10 artillery shells toward the village at around 2 p.m. today. Two mortar shells fell in the village. The victims were wounded by shrapnel while having conversation at the home of U Maung Thein Chay. The two men are currently receiving medical treatment at Ponnagyun Hospital,” the village official added.

The military fired heavy weapons into the village without there being fighting in the vicinity, villagers said.

Following the military’s shelling, residents in Yaybyukan Village have fled to downtown Ponnagyun, and Aungphyupyin and Thayetcho villages, another villager said.

“Almost all residents have fled to safer locations following the military’s shelling into the village. A few people remained in the village,” he added.

DMG attempted to contact Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura and regime spokesperson Major-General Zaw Min Tun regarding the military’s shelling of Yaybyukan Village, but they could not be reached.

A boat carrying food items was fired upon while traveling the Kaladan River and reportedly heading toward the No. 9 Military Operations Command headquarters in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township on November 17, killing one man and injuring two others.

A day earlier, 12 residents were killed and at least 26 others were injured after three mortar shells landed and exploded in Jeitchaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township.

And even prior to Saturday’s shelling of Yaybyukan, some 5,000 residents from several villages in Ponnagyun Township had recently fled their homes due to junta raids and artillery strikes.