One killed, two injured amid heavy fighting in Paletwa Township

By Aung Htein 05 Mar 2020

Aung Htein/DMG
March 5, Paletwa

One man was killed and two people were injured in Bwi Ohne village after they were hit by artillery fire and bombs amid heavy fighting near the Mee Chaung bridge in Paletwa Township, Chin State, locals said.

Tatmadaw forces clashed with the Arakan Army (AA) at around 6 p.m. on March 4. Locals said the fighting was heavy as the Tatmadaw carried out airstrikes in the area.

“Bombs and artillery shells landed in the village. One person was killed, and a Grade 8 student and a woman were injured,” said Bwi Ohne resident U Kyaw Myint.

Ko Alone, 26, was hit by an artillery shell and received an injury to his abdomen. He died en route to hospital.

“We cannot go along the Kaladan River at all,” U Kyaw Myint said of the region's major waterway. “Whoever goes that way will be shot. We tried instead to carry the patient over the mountains to reach Pe Chaung but he died on the way.”

The injured are Mg Ko Zaw Naing, 13, who received an injury to his waist, and Ma Win Win Phyu, 28, who sustained a leg wound.

Residents said that eight houses in the village were destroyed or burned due to artillery shell fire.

DMG attempted to contact Colonel Win Zaw Oo, media liaison for the Tatmadaw’s Western Command, and Khaing Thukha, spokesperson for the AA, to ask about Wednesday’s hostilities, but neither responded.

The AA stated on March 3 that its forces had begun fighting with the Tatmadaw near Mee Chaung bridge in Paletwa Township, close to a Tatmadaw artillery camp.