An alleged informant in Yangon’s Hlaing Township was shot dead on Wednesday morning and at least six young people who posted photos of the crime scene were arrested, according to residents.
Kyaw Aye, who according to locals owned a teashop used as a meeting place for members of the ultranationalist group Ma Ba Tha, was shot in the chest at close range in the township’s Ward 13.
He was on his way to the teashop from his home when the attack happened, said one resident, adding that he died on the spot.
“We heard the sound of gunfire,” she told Myanmar Now. “When we went outside there was no one there anymore.”
Shortly after the incident, about twenty soldiers came to the ward and arrested three women and three men who had taken photos of the aftermath, she added.
The military-appointed administrator in the ward, Hla Win, went into hiding late last month, leaving the neighbourhood with no administrators.
Kyaw Aye was known as an informant who worked with Hla Win to get over 20 anti-coup protesters arrested, said the resident who heard the gunshot.
The killing is the latest in a series of assassinations across the country targeting pro-regime officials. Local ward administrators have often become targets because of the role they play in the regime’s surveillance network.
Nine administrators have been killed in Yangon alone.
