Junta artillery strikes cause civilian casualties, cattle deaths in Buthidaung Twsp

By Admin 01 Jan 2024

DMG Newsroom
1 January 2024, Sittwe

Civilian casualties and cattle deaths were reported due to the regime’s indiscriminate firings in four Arakan State townships from December 30 to 31, the Three Brotherhood Alliance said in a statement.

Regime forces used both heavy weapons and small arms to fire indiscriminately in Minbya, Ramree, Ann and Buthidaung townships over the last two days of 2023.

A junta Mi-17 helicopter fired upon the town of Minbya and nearby villages on December 31. The military’s Minbya-based regiments also fired mortar shells into residential areas, the Three Brotherhood Alliance said in the statement.

A local man from Ward-2 in Ramree suffered a bullet wound to his shoulder as junta soldiers stationed at a religious edifice opened fire indiscriminately on December 30.

Regime forces stationed at Mount Tawhein, near Kazukaing Village in Ann Township, fired mortar shells into nearby villages and launched drone attacks on camps belonging to the Arakan Army (AA).

“The regime accuses Arakanese people of having ties to the AA and opens fires on civilian areas indiscriminately. These are the bad actions of the militarists, who can do whatever they want,” said a young man in Kyauktaw Township.

Two oxen owned by a resident of Pyinshae Village in Buthidaung Township were killed and two others were wounded after military command No. 15 and Light Infantry Battalion No. 563 fired mortar shells into the village on December 30 without there being any fighting in the area, the Three Brotherhood Alliance’s statement said.

Five Muslims were killed and four others were injured after artillery shells fired by the military landed and exploded in Ceditaung Village, part of Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township, on December 28.

Civilian casualties continue to rise in Arakan State, inflicted primarily by regime airstrikes, artillery strikes and drone attacks since renewed fighting broke out on November 13.

“Civilian casualties are reported in our area due to the junta shelling. Some residents dare not stay in the village. We live in fear due to the regime’s artillery strikes,” said a local woman in Buthidaung Township.

So far at least 50 people have been killed and 172 others injured in Arakan State and neighbouring Chin State’s Paletwa Township during the latest hostilities, according to a DMG tally. [Editor’s Note: The death toll does not include residents of Pauktaw, where fierce fighting continues and reliable information remains difficult to ascertain.]