An army captain is in hospital after being shot by a fellow officer in the Mandalay Region town of Meiktila on Sunday, according to local residents.
Major Wunna Htay of the army’s Meiktila-based Battalion 315 is currently in custody for shooting Captain Kaung Myat Thwin of Light Infantry Battalion 99, which is also based in Meiktila, sources told Myanmar Now.
The incident, which occurred in downtown Meiktila near the town’s police station 2, appeared to stem from an alcohol-fuelled dispute between the two men.
“Captain Kaung Myat Thwin is notorious here. He recently shot and killed a doctor in Wundwin,” said a local resident, referring to a town located about 30km northeast of Meiktila.
“He is also the one who arrested the chairperson of the Meiktila District Election Commission,” the local resident added.
It was unclear what started the dispute, but the incident has raised security concerns in the town, which is regarded as an army stronghold due to the large number of troops stationed there.
Meanwhile, there were at least two other clashes over the weekend involving regime forces who had turned on each other.
On Friday, a shootout between police and soldiers occurred in the Chin State capital of Hakha. Two soldiers were killed and a number of police were injured in the exchange of fire, local media reported.
In the Kayin State town of Kawkareik, a dispute on Sunday between a soldier and a policeman ended with both men shooting each other.
According to a report by DVB, the police officer died and the soldier was seriously injured in the shootout.
