Junta soldiers kill protester, raid NLD officials’ homes in Hlaing Township 

An 18-year-old student shot in the head by security forces on Friday night in Yangon’s Hlaing Township died on Saturday, his family confirmed. 

The night of March 12 saw not only live ammunition used against protesters, but also assaults by the military council on residents and elected representatives. 

Around 300 soldiers raided the home of Khaing Marlar Htay, a regional National League for Democracy (NLD) parliamentarian elected to the legislature disbanded in the February 1 military coup. The attack on her home led to a confrontation between locals from Ward 16 and security forces, in which troops and police officers opened fire on civilians. 

Aung Paing Oo, a university sophomore from Hlaing’s Ward 13, suffered a gunshot wound to the head in the violent crackdown. Although he was receiving emergency treatment for his injury, his mother May Yu said that he died hours later on March 13. 

He will be buried at the Myaing Tharyar Cemetery in Hmawbi Township. 

A member of the NLD in Hlaing’s Ward 16 told Myanmar Now that he witnessed people being shot in the arm, thigh, and head in security forces’ attack on locals. 

“The police and military came onto Parami Road and started firing live ammunition. Another person was shot in the thigh and he’s in critical condition,” the NLD member said.

Other witnesses told Myanmar Now that Khaing Marlar Htay was not at home at the time of the raid, and therefore avoided arrest. 

The junta’s armed forces reportedly left with a backpack from her house.  

Before shots were fired in Ward 16, the military’s armed personnel raided the NLD office in Ward 9, the homes of the township municipal chair and an Upper House parliamentary representative, Lower House MP for Hlaing Township Aung Kyaw Kyaw Oo wrote on his Facebook page. 

He added that the junta’s soldiers also shouted threats at those in apartments in Hlaing Myint Mo Housing on Kan Road and Thukha Myaing Housing on Thukha Road.

“There was bloodshed in Hlaing the night before. So starting from today, we’ve raised a black flag,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday. 

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, there have been more than 70 deaths and 2,092 people arrested since the coup, as of March 12.