Kyauktaw Twsp villager killed in junta artillery strike

By Admin 17 Jan 2024

DMG Newsroom
17 January 2024, Kyauktaw

A local man from Thayettapin Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, was killed after a mortar shell landed and exploded in the village at about 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

A mortar shell fired by the No. 9 Military Operations Command fell and exploded in Thayettapin Village, killing U Saw Hla Tun, 52, on the spot, said local residents.

“Shrapnel penetrated into the abdomen and he died instantly. The regime forces deliberately fire heavy weapons into residential areas,” said a local woman in Thayettapin Village.

The Arakan Army has reportedly been launching an assault on the No. 9 Military Operations Command, based in Kyauktaw, Arakan State, since 6 a.m. on January 17. The fighting escalated as the military responded to the AA’s attack with heavy weapons and small arms, said a local resident.

The fighting has forced thousands of local people from nearby villages to flee.

“Artillery shells fired by the No. 9 Military Operations Command fell in nearby villages. We are currently unable to confirm further civilian casualties,” said a resident of Kyauktaw.

The Arakan Army seized the military’s Kyauktaw-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 539 on the Sittwe-Yangon Road at about 10 a.m. on January 16 and about 300 regime soldiers surrendered to the ethnic armed group.

Renewed hostilities in Arakan State, which began in November, continue to intensify and the AA has lately been launching assaults on junta outposts and military regiments in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Rathedaung townships.