Junta artillery strikes leave at least one dead in Minbya

By Admin 18 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
18 November 2023, Minbya

One civilian was killed and at least five others were wounded by junta artillery strikes in Arakan State’s Minbya Township on Friday, DMG has learnt.

Junta troops deployed on Mt. Kyein Taung in Minbya town fired artillery around 6 p.m. on Friday, killing a 60-year-old man in downtown Minbya. At least five others were injured. DMG is still finding out  more details on the casualties.

At least two houses and the Minbya public hospital were damaged in Minbya, and a shell remains unexploded, said residents.

“My house was badly damaged by artillery strikes and gunshots. The situation was quite bad. I was lucky that I was not at home,” said a Minbya town resident whose house was damaged.

Troops belonging to Light Infantry Battalions No. 379, 541 and 380 on Mt. Kyein Taung have been shelling the town daily since renewed fighting broke out on Monday, forcing half of the town’s population to flee, said residents. Minbya has a population of around 150,000 people.

“Half of the population fled the town this morning,” said a resident who has fled.

Another resident said: “We don’t feel safe in the town, and we are planning to flee to a rural area.”

DMG was unable to obtain comment from Arakan State security and border affairs minister Colonel Kyaw Thura and junta spokesman Major-General Zaw Min Tun.

At least 20 civilians were killed or injured when the regime bombarded Pauktaw town on Thursday after the Arakan Army (AA) seized the police station in the town. More than 20,000 people fled their homes in Pauktaw.

According to a DMG tally, more than 40,000 people have been displaced by the fighting since the renewed fighting broke out on Monday.