As Many As 10 Myanmar Villagers Injured in Shooting at Letpadaung Copper Mine
As many as 10 villagers have been injured by police who fired rubber bullets at them…for blocking a roadway to a controversial Chinese-run copper mine in the town of Letpadaung in Salingyi township of northwestern Myanmar’s Sagaing region.
Locals routinely block the road in protest against Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd., demanding that the Chinese mine operator give them acres of land they were supposed to receive as compensation for damage from the construction of the project to the villagers’ crops and to their economic well-being.
…[T]he villagers confronted police in the area and were told to disperse, but refused to do so, said Myint Naing, chief minister of Sagaing region…
…[The] incident was not the first time guns have been fired at Letpadaung.