The military arrested around 20 people in Paung Township, Mon State, on Saturday after two junta policemen stationed in their village were shot earlier that day, according to local sources.
The officers, Ko Ko and Khine Zaw Htun—who were posted by the Zin Kyaik town police station to Oke Ta Dar village around four miles away—were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen while riding a motorcycle on Saturday near the neighbouring village of Hpalat.
Ko Ko, who was driving, was reportedly shot nine times, while Khine Zaw Htun was killed by two gunshot wounds to the neck.
Myanmar army soldiers proceeded to carry out indiscriminate arrests of Oke Ta Dar youth, with the exact number of people detained not known at the time of reporting, nor where they were being held.
“They were shot in Hpalat, but the military targeted Oke Ta Dar,” a local man explained.
Hpalat is located two-and-a-half miles from Oke Ta Dar.
Shots were also fired by troops at the village, according to the local source.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify the extent of the crackdown at the time of reporting.
Oke Ta Dar, a known stronghold of the National League for Democracy—whose administration was ousted in the February 2021 coup—remains one of the only villages in Paung Township where the military council has been unable to install its own administrator, locals said.
The Zin Kyaik town police station has been targeted in multiple attacks by anti-junta defence forces over the past year, including bombs dropped by drones on two occasions in early December, and an earlier bombing in October 2021.
Gunmen also opened fire on the site in November.
