17 October, 2012
Kachin State, Burma
On 15 October 2012 at 2:15pm, Burma
Army Infantry Battalion (IB) 37 began firing machine guns and mortars from a
hilltop on the China-Burma border nearby a Kachin refugee site located just
inside China. For about two hours, the refugees heard shooting in the area but
bullets did not hit the refugee site. At 4:30pm, a 7-year-old boy named Bawm
Hkaw was eating outside his house when machine gun bullets hit his left thigh
and right hand. Other bullets perforated his clothes but missed his body. As he
fell to the ground, his father, a pastor and village headman, heard the boy’s
screaming and immediately took him to a local Chinese hospital. While Bawm Hkaw
is in stable condition, the bullet that hit his left thigh fractured his femur
and amputation may still be necessary. Bawm Hkaw’s injury was the refugees’
first alert that they were being fired on, then as more bullets and mortar
shells began hitting the site and destroying houses, the refugees ran for
cover. The gunfire ceased at 6:30pm.
7 year old Bawm Hkaw
Leg shot by Burma Army
The refugees are from Hpa Re Village which fled Burma Army attacks and arrived to their current location on 22 May 2012, and were also fired on that same day. There are 735 people from 120 households at the site. Hpa Re Village is in the Pang Wa area in Northeastern Kachin State. IB 37 is part of Burma Army Northern Command.
X-ray of broken femur
Wound to hand
Bullets shot through his jacket but missed his body
We pray for Bawm Hkaw that his leg can be saved, and also for many displaced Kachin people living in fear of the Burma Army.
God bless you,
Kachin Free Burma Rangers
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