Narinjara News, November 18, 2022.

On November 16, 11villagers including 3 children under 10 years old, were killed and 2 dozen others were injured, when the MilitaryCouncil bombarded on a child ear-piercing ceremony in Jade Chaung village, where most of the Myoethnic group lives,in the northern Maungdaw township near Myanmar’s western border.

A village eldersaid “The Kyein Chaung-based Border Guard Forces (BGF) opened fire with artillery. The shells directly hit thesite of the ceremony. There were too many casualties. A total of 11 dead and 24 injured.The wounded were taken to hospitals in Kyein Chaung and Maungdaw”.

At that time around12:30 PM on November 16, there was no fighting around the area where theartillery was unleashed on the village.

The Arakan Army(AA) issued a statement on November 16 condemning the Military Council’s actionregarding this incident.

Khaing Thu Kha, thespokesperson of AA, saidthat, “ the Military Council blatantly violated the international laws thatmust be followed inwars, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity every day.”

Villagers said thatafter the injured were sent to Kyein Chaung regional hospital in northern Maungdaw,a local Military Council Operation Strategic Commander visited them and gave them 5-lakh kyats in aid.

The AA statementcontinued “ The Military Council, demoralised due to the high number of casualties on the battlefield in RakhineState, has turned their guns on residential areas where innocent civilians live, attacking withartillery, drones and warplanes on a daily basis.”

In a separateincident on November 16, an artillery shell fired by the Kansaut-based  539th Infantry Battalion in Kyauktaw Township landedand exploded in Chaung Tu village, killing 3 civilians in their 50s and seriously injuring 3others.  The full news can be read here (https://tinyurl.com/3ez24ya8)

On November 17, tworesidents of DooneMuslim village suffered bullet wounds and sent to Kyauktaw hospital after a small cargo boat in the Kaladan River fired on bythe Military Council troops near Yoke Tha village in Kyauktaw township.