Helicopter carrying officials hit by gunfire

20 February 2020
Helicopter carrying officials hit by gunfire
A Myanmar military transport helicopter prepares to take off at the Sittwe airport, Rakhine State. Photo: Nyunt Win/EPA

A helicopter carrying Myanmar government officials was shot at Wednesday in the country’s western Rakhine state where fighting between the insurgent Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar’s military has been ongoing, RFA reported.

The military confirmed to RFA’s Myanmar Service that the helicopter was hit by bullets fired from the ground but no one was injured. The helicopter was carrying Win Myat Aye, Myanmar’s Social Welfare Minister, and Nyi Pu, Rakhine’s Chief Minister.

Khine Thukha, the spokesperson for the AA, told RFA he could not confirm the incident.