October 5, 2022
Fear is growing among IDPs after military council soldiers fired into the air at midnight for no apparent reason to force IDPs in Arakan State to return to their homes by the end of the month.
The midnight shooting occurred because the military council is pushing for IDPs in Arakan State to return to their homes by the end of October, which is particularly worrying for IDPs, IDPs said.
“They entered the camp last night around midnight. They fired guns in the air and checked some houses near the entrance of the camp. We were huddled under the floor of our house. We were very scared. Even though the bullets were flying above us, we all got scared when we heard the shots. They were shooting for about 15 minutes. Yesterday they were also shooting at other places. So in total they shot for about an hour. They did not do anything to the people,” they said.
Another IDP said Buthidaung-based battalions had been firing artillery fire in downtown Buthidaung since noon yesterday, and that it was not known what caused the nighttime shooting in Yan Aung Myay camp.
“I have no idea why they fired. They also fired from around the camp. They fired many times. Some IDPs tried to hide because they were afraid. We also had to crouch under the ground. But the bullets did not hit the camp, but maybe they hit other places,” he said.
Previously, the military council had forced IDPs in Yan Aung Myay camp to return to their homes, and the shooting this time may be aimed at scaring IDPs to return.
In addition, IDPS said that the Ministry of Social Welfare and Resettlement has not delivered rice rations to the camp for more than three months.
According to reports, most IDPs in the camp do not want to return to their homes in light of the recurring fighting in the region. They are also afraid to return because the relevant organizations have not yet cleared the mines and remnants of war, they said.
In some townships in the state, clashes have occurred between the military council troops and the Arakan Army (AA).
As a result, junta soldiers fire heavy weapons every night in many different places, causing injuries, deaths and damage to houses in Minbya, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships.
Sent by Khaing Lu Hla (Yoma Myay)