Six people were shot dead after a demonstration against a gold mine in northeast of myanmar exploited by an ethnic army, the National Army of the Democratic Alliance of Myanmar, or MNDAA, told Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia on Radio Free.
The shooting took place on Wednesday afternoon, several hours after around 200 local residents confronted a dozen people to dig for gold in an area in the canton of Kutkai in the northern state of Shan which is the main source of water for agricultural land for a village.
Local residents protested several times against the gold extraction operation.
On Wednesday, some of the minors pointed out their weapons on the demonstrators, but finally left the region, known as Nam Lane Creek, a resident who asked for anonymity for security reasons in RFA.
A group of demonstrators returned to the stream several hours later after cooking and eaten in a neighboring village, he said.
“They had returned,” he said, referring to minors. “They had waited for us and then they shot us. We are only ordinary people.
Six other people were injured and received treatment in a hospital, he said.
“As locals, we had no weapons, but they shot us like that,” said another resident. “It’s the truth.”
Compensation request
The area where the shooting took place is under the control of the MNDAA, an armed ethnic group which is addressed to the national liberation army of Ta’ang, or to Tnla, and the army of independence in Kachin, or in Kia, in its fight against the military junta.
Certain parts of the canton of Kutkai are controlled by the MNDAA, while the TNLA and the Kia control other parts of the canton. Despite their alliance, frequent territorial disputes occur between the three groups, according to local residents.
The second resident told RFA that the shooting was carried out by MNDAA soldiers.
The bodies of the six dead were brought to an MNDAA office where residents demanded compensation from the group, residents said.
MNDAA information officer Li Kyar Win immediately responded to an RFA commentary attempt.
The Chinese Embassy of Yangon also did not respond to an email asking for comments on the question of whether the Chinese nationals were involved in the gold extraction operation in Nam Lane Creek.
The illegal gold extraction, as well as minerals of jade and rare earths, skip in northern Myanmar, where successive governments have not succeeded in regulating the industry for generations.
However, the number of unauthorized operations has increased since February 1, 2021 of the army 2021, in the midst of the conflict between the junta troops and the armed resistance forces in the region.
Translated by Kalyar Lwin. Published by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.