
Local resistance fighters have claimed responsibility for the killing of a man accused of helping the military carry out its deadly assault against a protest stronghold in Bago in April.
Kyaw Kyaw, also known as Kyaw Soe Htut, was shot twice in the stomach at close-range at around 8am on Sunday morning, a witness said, adding that both the victim and his two attackers were riding motorcycles.
“He was on his motorcycle when he was shot by the people on the bike. Then he hit the pavement and crashed,” the witness said.
Shortly before the assassination, the Bago branch of the People’s Defense Force (PDF) also set off bombs at the Hantharwaddy Township administration office and the township electricity office in Nyaung Wine.
A staff member was reportedly injured in the bombing at the electricity office.
“This is our first move making an example out of the people terrorising civilians,” a local PDF member told Myanmar Now. “The same can be said about the bombings.”
Kyaw Kyaw, 50, used to serve in the military and was the administrator for Bago’s Shin Saw Pu Township when the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party was in power, said a Bago resident.
Four Bago residents told Myanmar Now that Kyaw Kyaw was seen with soldiers on April 9 as they attacked a protest stronghold on Ma Ga Dit road. Dozens were reported killed during the attack.
A junta spokesperson could not be reached for comment on Sunday’s killing.
The PDF member said the group would thoroughly investigate all claims that someone has worked with the military before launching an attack.
“We only carry out the extermination of the informant when we are certain about the information,” he said. “We have never assassinated anyone immediately after we got the information.”
The bombings were part of efforts to target the “pillars” of the junta, he added.