Three people including a schoolteacher were killed and at least 13 injured by junta artillery strikes in Minbya Township, Rakhine State on Monday, according to residents.
Light Infantry Battalion Nos. 380, 379 and 541 based in Minbya town shelled villages after junta troops were hit by a land mine attack in the town, said locals.
Two sisters from Palaung Pyin Village died at hospital, while a 50-year-old female schoolteacher working in Htaung Chaung Gyi Village was killed immediately in the junta strikes.
“At least 13 others were injured and maybe more,” a local told The Irrawaddy at noon on Monday. Junta battalions were still shelling villages then, he added.
The body of the schoolteacher could not be transported to her home in Minbya town on Monday as junta troops had blocked roads.
Schools and shops were also closed in Minbya town due to the artillery strikes, locals said.
“People are staying indoors and no one dares to go out on the streets,” said a resident.
Villagers could offer few details about Monday’s casualties since they were fleeing the shelling. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify their reports.
A 30-year-old Muslim woman in Rakhine’s Kyauktaw town was also killed by the regime on Monday when junta troops stationed at Kisspanadi Bridge fired mortar shells at Pike The Ward around 8 p.m.
“There was no fighting yesterday. They fired shells at houses on both sides of the bridge. She ran away when she heard shelling but was hit,” a Pike The Ward community elder told The Irrawaddy.
The woman was rushed to a cottage hospital where she died of her injuries, said ward residents.
Before Monday’s fatal shelling, at least five people had been killed and more than 20 injured by junta artillery strikes in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Buthidaung since fighting between junta forces and the Arakan Army intensified two months ago.
The Arakan National Party on September 29 strongly condemned junta artillery attacks that resulted in civilian casualties and damage to residential areas.
Junta troops and the AA have been locked in fierce fighting in northern Rakhine since August. The junta has blockaded roads and waterways in the region, limiting the supply of food. The surge in food prices that has resulted is taking a heavy toll on locals.
