A local food shop was hit by an artillery shell on April 27 in the town of Mrauk-U, Arakan State, injuring the shop’s owner and two of his employees.
The shop, in the ancient city’s Nyaung Pin Zay ward, was struck by the shell at around 4 p.m. The roof of the food shop was blown off and some cooking pots were damaged in the shelling.
The two shop workers who were injured live in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mrauk-U.
“It isn’t fair that we were shelled,” said shop owner U Aung Linn, who was also injured in the blast. “I am just doing my business. My workers who were injured live in Shitthaung IDP camp. They are poor and come and work at my shop to earn some money. I feel sorry that they have to face this kind of situation.”
Sixteen-year-old Ma Mi Nge, one of the injured workers, suffered a serious leg injury and is receiving medical treatment at Mrauk-U Hospital. U Aung Linn and the other shop worker, a 60-year-old woman, were less severely wounded and were discharged from the hospital.
Nyaung Pin Zay ward administrator U Mya Thar Tun said no clashes occurred in Mrauk-U or the surrounding area on the day of the incident, but residents were on edge after hearing the sound of gunfire in town the evening prior to Monday’s shelling.
“It is OK if people are hit when there’s actually fighting. But we don’t want firing for no reason. It just hurts the people,” U Mya Thar Tun said.
Since December 2018, fighting between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties. There are currently over 150,000 people displaced due to the conflict, with an escalation in hostilities reported in recent months.
