Police have shot a man in the leg during a raid on a village in Mandalay region to arrest people suspected of protesting last year against a coal-powered cement factory.
Several officers in civilian clothes shot at the house of 60-year-old Shwe Ohn in Aung Tha Pyay village late on Tuesday evening, said village administrator Khin Maung Lwin.
“They surrounded U Shwe Ohn’s house and opened fire, saying rocks were thrown at them,” he told Myanmar Now.
A bullet hit Shwe Ohn in his right calf, said Tin Lin, a local resident.
Several officers were reportedly injured by rocks during a standoff. Police retreated after the shooting but returned at 5am the next morning and arrested more than 10 villagers, including five children who have now been released, he added.
“They asked us to come… to bring the children back and we have done it,” Khin Maung Lwin said.
Some of those arrested had gathered at Shwe Ohn’s house to look after him after he was shot.
In May last year a group of villagers demanding compensation for land they say was stolen from them set fire to vehicles and buildings on the compound of the under construction Alpha Cement Factory.
Several were injured when police fired rubber bullets, and one man arrested after the protest died in custody.
Shwe Ohn is being detained at the Pathein Gyi township police station.
Translated by Swe Zin Moe
