A hearing-impaired man from Rar Hpu Village in Yebyu Township, Tanintharyi Region, was shot dead by troops from the military junta on February 19th, according to local residents.
The victim, identified as Ko Ar, a 30-year-old man with hearing and speech impairments, was working at a rubber plantation when a military column of several hundred soldiers advanced from Kywe Thalin Village toward Rar Hpu Village.
A resident of Yebyu said, Ko Ar panicked and ran when he saw the approaching troops near the plantation. Soldiers reportedly shouted at him to stop, but he did not respond due to his disability. Troops then opened fire.
“When the soldiers reached the area, he became frightened and ran. Others were nearby. They called out to him, but he could not hear and was unable to speak. They shot him twice in the head and once in the abdomen,” the resident said.
He died at the scene.
After realizing the shooting was a mistake, members of the military column reportedly wrapped bandages around the wounds and instructed villagers to take the body back to his home. The troops also paid 200,000 kyats to the family, reportedly describing it as medical expenses.
“They said their enemy was nearby and that they shot him by mistake. The soldiers are still stationed near the village and have not provided any formal explanation,” the resident added.
As of February 20th, the military column remained deployed in large numbers around Rar Hpu Village, with no investigation into the incident being reported.
Recent days have seen intensified military activity in the area. Junta troops previously positioned east of the Kalain Aung–Malwe Taung road have returned to the main roadway. Ongoing clashes between junta forces and joint revolutionary forces have been reported near the highway, and a volunteer driver said a section of the Dawei–Kalain Aung roadway has been temporarily closed by revolutionary forces due to fighting.
In Tanintharyi Region, at least 56 clashes were recorded in January, and fighting has continued this month, with a reported increase in drone attacks, according to local monitoring data.
