12-year-old girl injured by junta artillery strike in Mrauk-U dies at hospital

By Admin 29 Dec 2023

DMG Newsroom
29 December 2023, Mrauk-U

A 12-year-old Muslim girl from Paung Toke Village in Mrauk-U Township on Friday succumbed to injuries she sustained when an artillery shell fired by the regime struck her village on Thursday, according to family members.

The girl was severely injured when the shell exploded in Paung Toke (Muslim) Village. Shrapnel penetrated her abdomen, and she died at Panmyaung Hospital in Minbya Township.

“She was seriously injured. She felt better last night. The situation got worse this morning, and she died at 1 p.m.,” said a family member on Friday.

The regime’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 540, based in Mrauk-U, fired artillery shells after the Arakan Army (AA) attacked Myaungbwe police station in Mrauk-U Township on Thursday. Paung Toke Village was hit and five villagers, including the deceased, were injured.

“We feel very sorry that children are killed by artillery strikes. [The Myanmar military] is always firing artillery shells though there is no fighting. We want both sides to avoid residential areas,” said a woman from Paung Toke Village.

Two civilians were killed and 16 others were injured in three Muslim villages — Paung Toke, Kaing Taw and Bu Talone — in Mrauk-U Township as Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 540, 377 and 378 carried out an artillery bombardment for much of Thursday.

According to a DMG tally, at least 50 civilians have been killed and 217 others injured by the junta’s air and artillery strikes since renewed fighting broke out in Arakan State on November 13.