Junta shellings kill two residents, injure 16 in Mrauk-U 

By Admin 29 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
29 December 2023, Mrauk-U

Junta artillery strikes killed two local residents and injured 16 others across three villages in Mrauk-U Township, Arakan State, on December 28.

A resident was killed and seven others were injured as Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) Nos. 377, 378 and 540 fired multiple mortar shells into Kaitaw  (Muslim) Village after the Arakan Army (AA) launched an attack on the Myaungbwe police station in Mrauk-U Township on Thursday morning.

“The military responded to the AA’s offensive with artillery attacks and aerial support during the hostilities. A mortar shell fell in the village, killing a local on the spot,” said a local man in Kaitaw Village.

The deceased has been identified as a 22-year-old Muslim man and the injured range in age from 7 to 40. The injured are being treated at nearby villages due to financial difficulties and junta travel restrictions, locals said.

A mortar shell fired by the military’s Mrauk-U-based LIB 540 landed and exploded in Butalone (Muslim) Village at about 4 p.m. on December 28, killing a resident and wounding three others.

“The deceased and injured were fleeing to safer locations when they heard the sound of a junta fighter jet. A mortar shell fell in the village, killing a resident on the spot and injuring three others,” said a Muslim man.

The deceased is a 35-year-old woman and the injured have been identified as U Anvi Abdullah, 53, U Anvi Sardihusoung, 33, and a 10-year-old child.

Five local people were injured after an artillery shell fired by the military’s Mrauk-U-based LIB 540 landed and exploded in Paungtoke (Muslim) Village in Mrauk-U at about 10 a.m. on December 28.

“A mortar shell fell at an entrance to the village, wounding five people. Of them, three injured are said to be in critical condition,” said a local man.

The injured have been identified as Kalarson, 22, Shwe Maung, 19, Farroud, 19, Hallahmauk, 16, and Konbararli, 12. Two out of five injured have been sent to Panmyaung Hospital for medical treatment.

The military’s Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 377, 378 and 540 fired multiple mortar shells into residential areas after the Arakan Army attacked the Myaungbwe police station in Mrauk-U Township on Thursday morning.

“The regime targets the people as a strategy. If the AA attacks, the regime shoots the people with heavy weapons. The regime is openly committing war crimes,” said U Pe Then, an Arakanese politician.

Since renewed fighting broke out on November 13, civilian casualties inflicted by regime troops have continued to rise.