Child severely injured in artillery strike

Description: 

"[Warning Graphic] ... According to local news media, on the morning of the 23 May 2022, while families were having breakfast, the military attacked M’dat (မဒပ်) village with artillery shells. A 10-year-old boy and his mother were seriously injured. The child was reportedly in a critical condition, and lost a limb...News sources claimed that the military base of the 274th Light Infantry Battalion in Mindat Town (မင်းတပ်), Mindat Township (မင်းတပ်မိနယ်) was responsible for firing heavy artillery shells at civilian areas that morning... Myanmar Witness collected and analysed open-source footage relating to the incident and made the following conclusions: 1. Myanmar Witness was not able to fully verify the footage of the injured child as being taken in M’dat village. However, possible locations in M’dat village and Mindat Township which are consistent with footage of where a heavily wounded child was taken for medical care were identified...2. There was no verifiable footage of the attack itself to verify how the child’s wounds were incurred, but Myanmar Witness was able to verify the location at which the child was allegedly hit, with what appears to be blood stains on the wall and floor outside of a structure claimed to be the child's home...3. Footage of ammunition reportedly found in M’dat village after the attack are consistent with locally produced 120mm mortar rounds known to be used by the Myanmar military...4. Myanmar Witness verified the presence of a military base within firing range of the village and identified a mortar present at the base, although it was not possible to verify whether it was a model capable of firing these particular rounds...This incident is one of many monitored and analysed by Myanmar Witness, which documents alleged indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas since the coup. Attacks on villages like this are of particular concern as many villages do not have sufficient medical facilities. To read the full report and gain an insight into the techniques used by OSINT investigators, download the full report..."

Source/publisher: 

Myanmar Witness

Date of Publication: 

2022-09-27

Date of entry: 

2022-09-27

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar

Language: 

English

Local URL: 

Format: 

pdf

Size: 

4.26 MB (Original version) - 19 pages

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good