NUG official, husband found murdered in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region

A National Unity Government (NUG) official and her husband were killed in their home in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region on Tuesday, according to local resistance sources. Athi Aung, an NUG education officer for Tanintharyi’s Palaw Township, and her husband were both found stabbed to death, the Myeik District People’s Defence Force (PDF) Battalion 1 said in a statement. “At around 1am, unknown assailants attacked the couple with knives. They were found dead when security forces arrived,” an information officer for the group told Myanmar Now. “The teacher worked tirelessly to establish schools and did so successfully,” he added. In its statement, the Myeik District PDF Battalion 1 said a special investigation unit would be set up to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. The statement also encouraged the public to come forward with any information regarding the incident. Palaw Township is a resistance stronghold lying within territory controlled by Brigade 4 of the Karen National Union. “Since this incident occurred in resistance-controlled territory, it is our duty to uncover the truth and hold the perpetrators fully accountable under the law,” said the Battalion 1 information officer. The Myeik District PDF Battalion 1 statement also addressed the recent killings of two junta-affiliated officials—Moe Naing, a 58-year-old ward administrator, and Kyi Than, the 64-year-old local chair of the pro-regime National Unity Party—in its custody. It said that Moe Naing was shot dead on Monday while trying to flee as resistance forces were being pursued by junta troops, while Kyi Than was killed when he attempted to grab a weapon as he was being apprehended on December 6. In November of last year, another NUG education officer was killed along with his wife and infant daughter in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township, as part of a wave of assassinations targeting NUG officials in resistance-held areas. The NUG’s Ministry of Education issued a statement the next day pledging to work with all relevant organisations to track down and prosecute the killers, but a year later, the case remains unsolved. The ministry has not released a statement regarding the deaths of Athi Aung and her husband, and Nay Phone Latt, spokesperson for the NUG’s Prime Minister's Office, was unavailable for comment.

NUG official, husband found murdered in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region

Resistance forces in Palaw Township vow to bring the killers to justice, while also facing questions about deaths of junta-affiliated officials

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