Three men attacked by drunken mob in Minbya Township

03 Feb 2020

Phadu Tun Aung and Hnin Nwe | DMG
February 2, Minbya
 
Three young men were attacked with knives and sticks by a group of intoxicated individuals at around 2 p.m. on February 1 near Latma, a Muslim village in Arakan State’s Minbya Township, village administrator U Maung Thein Hlaing told DMG.
 
Hla Win, 21, and Nyi Min Tun, 19, from Nhat Tawya village, and Myo Wai, 17, from Nyaung Pin Wine village, were attacked as they were returning from Shwe Tamar village after meeting a relative there.
 
U Maung Thein Hlaing, the Latma village administrator, said the three men were attacked by a group of 14 people. The victims were then taken to one of the assailant’s homes and assaulted again there. The violent mob also took two motorcycles and mobile phones from them.
 
Village leaders attempted to intervene to forestall further harm to the trio but withdrew when the group turned their aggression on them as well.
 
Once the group had sobered up, village leaders including a Mawlawi, or Muslim religious leader, were able to convince them to release the three men, who were then sent to the Shwe Tamar village administrator.
 
“We have a religious scholar [Mawlawi] at the village. He implored them [the assailants] to release the three men. He told them that their behavior creates difficulties for residents [of Latma village] to interact with people from other villages in the area,” U Maung Thein Hlaing said.
 
Villagers from Latma village, home to about 8,000 Muslims, have frequently traveled to nearby Arakanese villages to work as labourers. Relations among the villages have generally been positive.
 
“We are worried about having issues again,” said U Maung Thein Hlaing, referring to tensions between Rakhines and Muslims in Arakan State in 2012 that spiralled into state-wide interreligious/racial violence. “We are worried that the whole village will get into trouble because of these 10 or 15 people.”
 
He added that a village meeting was held on the afternoon of February 2 so that more problems would not occur in future and the villages could maintain good relations. Officials said they will also ask the group to return the motorcycles and mobile phones taken from the men who were attacked.
 
Arakanese residents living near Latma village said that they were concerned the problems would continue and wanted to live peacefully.
 
“The religious leader and village leaders said that they will manage their Latma village so as not to have any more problems. We have also discussed the issue with our village leaders,” Shwe Tama village administrator U Kyaw Thein said.
 
Of the three victims, Myo Wai suffered serious injuries to his arm and ear, while the other two emerged from the altercation with minor injuries. All are receiving medical treatment at Pan Myaung Hospital.
 
Apprehending those responsible for the altercation has been difficult because the assailants are reportedly threatening retributive action against informants. Residents said that the authorities had been informed of the problem.
 
Family members of the injured men said that they told police from the Pan Myaung police station that they did not want to open a case against their assailants and only wanted their motorcycles and mobile phones returned to them.