Seven residents receive injuries during gunfire in Kyauktaw

By Khaing Roe La 03 Sep 2019

Khaing Roe La | DMG
3 September, Kyauktaw
 
Seven people from four villages in Kyauktaw Township received injuries during gunfire on 2 September.

Five of them have been rushed to Kyauktaw hospital on Monday evening, said U Bo Aung Thein, chairperson of Shwe Garuna Blood Donors’ Association based in Thayet Ta Bin village.

“People from Kyauk Ta Lone village have not contacted us about their injured,” U Bo Aung Thein said.

U Maung Than Mya, 61, and Daw Ma Nyant, 30, from Thayet Ta Bin village received injuries from gunfire. U Maung Than Mya was hit in the back of his head by a bullet when he was hiding in paddy fields after hearing the sound of gunfire. Daw Ma Nyant was struck in her right thigh while she was in her house, a local resident from Thayet Ta Bin village explained to the DMG.

Ko Than Wai, 28, and Ko Kyaw Than Sein, 20, from Shwe Ta Hle villge received injuries from an artillery shell that blew up in front of their house, said U Maung Nu, a local resident from Shwe Ta Hle village.

“They were hiding in their granary but pieces of shrapnel struck them. U Than Wai’s left arm was injured while Kyaw Than Sein received an injured to his right knee,” the villager said.

 A four-year-old girl from Yay Ba village received a gunshot wound while she was in her house. The bullet grazed over the skin in her right arm.

U Maung San Thein, 50, is from Kyauk Ta Lone village was hit by pieces of shrapnel when two artillery shells launched by Myanmar military troop landed near him while he was tending cattle in a garden between Thayet Ta Bin and Kyauk Ta Lone villages. It happened at 2 p.m. yesterday.

“A piece of shrapnel hit the back of his neck. Members of Tatmadaw troop fired heavy weapon from a bridge near the market in Thayet Ta Bin village,” said U Maung Thein Nyunt, elder brother of U Maung San Thein.

Ko Myo Ko Than, 18, is from Kyauk Ta Lone village and a stray bullet grazed the skin on his arm, he said.

They have been given medical treatment in their village because their injuries are superficial, he added.

A landmine exploded yesterday afternoon at about 2 p.m. on the Yangon-Sittwe road between Thayet Ta Bin and Daung Taung Yoe villages. After the blast, soldiers reached the bridge near Thayet Ta Bin village opened fire into the village, villagers said.

Colonel Win Zaw Oo, head of the Western Command, however, denied what the villagers said about the gunfire. He claimed that there was no clash on Monday in Kyauktaw Township.

“I have not been reported about injured people near Thayet Ta Bin village. And there was no fighting in Kyauktaw,” Colonel Win Zaw Oo said.

The AA’s information officer Khaing Thukha said that the Tatmadaw carried out a one-sided attack in the village and there was no clash in Kyauktaw Township.

“I asked our troops on the ground about the gunfire. They said that there was no armed conflict. It was one-sided attack. They (Tatmadaw) deliberately fired guns and heavy weapons into the village. They probably detonated the landmine too,” Khaing Thukha said.

“Four female students fainted when they heard the sound of gunfire,” said U Bo Aung Thein, chairperson of Shwe Garuna Blood Donors’ Association. They have been sent to Kyauktaw hospital for medical treatment.