A six-year-old boy was injured when an artillery shell hit a village in Rathedaung Township in Rakhine State on Friday.
The shell was allegedly fired by Burmese navy boats traveling along the Mayu River into the community of Aung Si Kon at around 2:00 p.m. on September 11, according to local sources. They added that artillery shells also hit the villages of Kanaunggyi and Ywar Thit Twin, on the Mayu’s east bank, damaging homes, killing livestock, and forcing villagers to hide in bunkers.
A family member of the injured child described the shell as coming “through the trees” before exploding.
“The child was injured in his left shoulder and arm. He needs an x-ray, so he was admitted to Zaytipyin hospital, but they were unable to do an x-ray at that hospital. So we need to go to the Sittwe hospital,” the relative explained, adding that the child’s condition was “critical.”
The individual was reluctant to name the armed organization responsible, but described the scene in which it was fired.
“I don’t need to say who shot it. They shot it from the Mayu River as they were passing by. I saw two motorboats passing. They have opened fire like this before, as they are passing by. They also open fire when they come into the village,” the relative explained.
Rathedaung Township parliamentarian Khin Saw Wai confirmed that the six-year-old was receiving treatment for his injury, and that soldiers had shot at the village from the river, but noted that it was one-sided. She said that a clash between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army had not occurred in this case, but that fighting was on the rise in the area.
“A series of clashes have occurred in Rathedaung. There are many IDPs [internally displaced persons]. They haven’t stopped shooting,” Khin Saw Wai told NMG. “I think both sides need to stop fighting. We urge both sides to come to a ceasefire. I am so upset to hear about all of this,” she added.
NMG called the Tatmadaw's True News Information Team for comment but received no response.
