An artillery shell landed on a house in Panmyaung village, Minbya Township, on the morning of 24 August, killing three people and injuring four others.

Ma Nyo Nyo Win, 15, Mg Min Htet Kyaw, 10, and Mg Aung Zin Phyo, 6, were killed. The four injured are undergoing medical treatment in Mrauk-U and Sittwe hospitals.

The witnesses’ statements regarding the fire of artillery shells are going to be submitted to parliament on 27 August, said U Hla Thein Aung, Arakan State parliament MP for Minbya Township.

“We have eyewitnesses. The ANP will collect the testimonies and their statements to submit to the party and parliament,” U Hla Thein Aung said.

Villagers said that the rocket shell that landed on the house came from a hill in the village from which the Tatmadaw fired artillery shells into the armed confrontational area. However, the Tatmadaw denied the accusation of the villagers.

The Lawmaker U Hla Thein Aung said that Panmyaung villagers requested that the firing of weapons to occur as far from residential areas as possible to prevent heinous incidents from repeating.

The funeral of the three students who died from shell fragments was held on 25 August at the village cemetery.

Currently, villagers are concerned about the risk of getting hit by pieces of shrapnel so they fled to nearby villages for safety.