Three villagers were injured and two others were detained by the Tatmadaw from June 8-10 after gunfire was heard in Apaukwa village, Kyauktaw Township, villagers said.

A Muslim man identified as Zawki Rarmauk, 33, and two Arakanese men were injured and another two Arakanese men were arrested on Wednesday, residents said.

On the evening of June 8, a Tatmadaw column traveling by truck along the Yangon-Sittwe road entered Apaukwa village and opened fire, injuring U Maung Hla Kyaw, said a villager who refused to be named.

“They got off their vehicle and entered the village opening fire. There was no clash at that time,” the villager said.

On June 9, a Muslim man was hit by a stray bullet fired from the direction of a Tatmadaw column on its way back to base, his family members said.

Two villagers from Apaukwa and Pyane Chaung villages were arrested on June 10 when they encountered a military column on the way to their villages, said U Maung Kyan Aung, the father of Ko Wai Hla Maung.

“They were taken as guides for them. The Tatmadaw personnel are now going around in the village and the two men were detained in the village,” he said.

Since the Tatmadaw column has deployed in the village, locals are worried about being interrogated.

DMG phoned Major-General Tun Tun Nyi from the Tatmadaw True News Information Team to seek comment on the events of recent days in Kyauktaw Township, and he responded that the team had released a report about it on its social media page. But as of press time, no report had yet been posted.