It is reported that a 17-year-old woman was shot dead for no reason by the Military Council forces in Mindat Township, southern Chin State, on January 9.
A 17-year-old woman was killed on the spot, and her sister was wounded in the forehead when the Military Council troops from the Infantry Battalion 274 returned from a patrol on the night of January 9th in Li Lawng village, Mindat Township Regional No. 3.
Li Lawng is about 10 miles away from Mindat town and has around 50 houses.
It is well-known that the people of Li Lawng village have to spend the night in the forest, and the communication telephone lines to Mindat township side are still down.
The village is frequently raided by the Military Council forces, so most of the villagers do not dare to live in the village and often run away. There are reports that junta, shoot at people’s homes, and steal anything they can from the houses including blankets, cupboards, dishes, and food while the villagers are taking shelter in the forest.
A close relative of the deceased said, "After passing into the village, the military unit y turned back at night, and they shot from the road, because the road was close to their house. The dead girl and her sister held up their hands, and ran to the side of the house when they shot them. Her face, nose and mouth were all torn up. It went straight below the chest from the front to the back, and his sister was hit in the nose.”
The woman who died due to unprovoked firing by the Military Council was identified as Mahathi.
Her father was also arrested by the Military Council to be a porter and the daughter was shot dead the night he escaped. On the day when Mahathi’s body was cremated, there were no people there, so when she was cremated with only a few people who attended.
“ It really hurts. I am quite sad. If you’re dealing with PDFs and you are hit, I would say it is an accident. But the military kill deliberately.so what is the point? Don’t they have children too? Are they even human? People like that are compared to dogs. Actually dogs don’t do that to people. In my mind, I want to say when they have no conscience, they are worse than a dog.”a close relative of the deceased said.
