A monastery in Minbya Township’s Sabahtar village where villagers were hiding was hit by mortar shells on June 3 at about 3p.m, killing four villagers and injuring nine others including a young monk, U Myo Kyaw Aung, administrator of the village told the DMG.

The clash between the Tatmadaw and the AA started in the early morning at a location about one furlong south of the village. Villagers who are afraid of heavy artillery fire are taking refuge in the village monastery.  However, mortar shells fired from Myaungbwe village to the other side of the Lay Myo River hit the monastery.

The three mortar shells landed on the monastery; each one landed in within a period of thirty minutes. Casualties occurred when the first mortar shell hit the monastery.

“The shells were fired from Myaungbwe village and then exploded once they landed on the monastery. Women were terrified and cried. Some died and others were injured,” U Myo Kyaw Aung said.

All the dead and injured villagers were sent to Minbya hospital. A 14-year-old girl who was wounded in her chest and waist died at the hospital. Some villagers with serious injuries were sent to Sittwe hospital.

Only ten villagers are now left in the village because villagers fled from their homes following the gunfire, the villager administrator said.

“We sent local residents to villages in Minbya by motor boat. Four or five elderly villagers and our family left here. We worry about night battles and troops coming into our village to cause trouble with us,” U Myo Kyaw Aung said.

During the ongoing battles between the Tatmadaw and the AA in Arakan State, there has been a large amount of collateral damage, some people were killed or injured by bullets and heavier munitions.