SITTWE, Rakhine State—A Muslim villager was shot dead by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State’s Buthidaung Township at around 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning, according to local villagers.
The 60-year-old male resident of Sin The Pyin Village in Buthidaung Township was on his way to go fishing with four other villagers when he was fatally shot by soldiers stationed on a hill near the village.
“He was not killed in an armed clash; he was shot by soldiers from a hill near the village,” said a village elder who asked for anonymity.
The victim was shot in the head and died on the way to Buthidaung Township Hospital, villagers said.
Military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday there was fighting between government troops and Arakan Army fighters in neighboring Nayone Taung Village on the day.
“We learned that one person who was looking for a stray cow was hit,” he said.
Buthidaung Township administrator U Shwe Hla Aung and his deputy U Hla Shwe told The Irrawaddy they had not received any reports about the killing.
Sin The Pyin is a Muslim village with over 200 households. Many residents fled to nearby villages following clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army near the village last month.
Htet Naing Zaw contributed additional reporting from Naypyitaw.
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