Two villagers shot at night in Mrauk-U

By Cha Lu Aung 16 Apr 2019

Cha Lu Aung/ DMG

April 14, Mrauk-U

Two men from Baung Dwet village in Mrauk-U Township were shot by the Tatmadaw on Saturday night, one died and the other man received serious injuries, according to local residents.

Villagers said that they heard the sound of three gunshots at about 8 p.m., and second round of gunfire. At about 10 p.m. villagers heard the cry of men in pain.

“We could not go and see them because of the shooting. We called the phone numbers given to us by authorities concerned. But, no one arrived. We looked around the following morning, we found two men with wounds from bullets,” said a villager who asked not to be named for safety reasons.

“One of the men had a bullet pass through his body while the other man had a bullet still lodged in his body,” the villager said.

Both of them are in their 60’s. U Maung Kyaw Sein eventually died from his wound but U Kyaw Thein was provided with medical treatment in Sittwe hospital.

“The village is located between No.377 and 378 Light Infantries. The shots were fired by the No. 378 Light Infantry adjacent to the village,” the villager said.  

The DMG contacted Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun from the Tatmadaw True News Information Team, and he responded that the Tatmadaw did not fire any guns into the village.

“We did not open fire in the village. There was some shooting because we heard some suspicious movement near the building for married soldiers in No. 377 Light Infantry. But, the direction of the shooting was not towards the village. We will release an official statement about the case,” Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun said.

Villagers said that there were no clashes between the Tatmadaw and AA near Baung Dwet village.