Resistance investigating murder of one of its fighters in Sagaing Region

Officials of the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG) have announced an investigation into the August killing of a leader of the Sagaing Region-based armed resistance group Yadanarbon Revolution Force (YRF). The YRF said that their financial officer and governing committee member Than Htike, better known as Ko Nyi Nyi, was shot in the head in a peanut field in Sagaing Region’s Ayadaw Township between the villages of Aing Lyar (or Aing Thar) and Htan Taw Kone on the evening of August 27. According to Nay Phone Latt, the spokesperson for the NUG’s office of the prime minister, the investigation was prompted by an August 30 complaint letter the YRF sent to various NUG offices, including the ministries of defence, home affairs and immigration, and human rights. A case is now open and investigations are underway in Ayadaw Township, according to Nay Phone Latt. NUG human rights minister Aung Myo Min confirmed he had received the YRF’s complaint letter. “If the perpetrator is a member of a [NUG-commanded] battalion, the relevant departments are ready to implement the appropriate procedures to ensure justice is upheld,” Aung Myo Min said. Ko Nyi Nyi, 28, was reportedly killed some 17 miles north of Ayadaw on the Ayadaw-Shwebo-Depayin-Budalin road. The YRF reported that Ko Nyi Nyi had been on leave from his fighting unit since August 20 and was expected to return on August 28. On August 27 at around 8am, he set off from the town of Saing Pyin in Debayin Township, moving towards the village of Oke Shit Gyi in Ayadaw Township. He was killed before reaching his destination. An officer from the local Ayadaw Township People’s Defence Team (PDT) said that farmers had found Ko Nyi Nyi’s body with a gunshot wound to the head on the morning of August 27 before alerting local resistance administrators and armed groups. The Ayadaw Township PDT officer said resistance groups put out the word about the victim the day his body was found, and identified him as a member of the YRF later that evening. “We don’t have details about the background circumstances, such as who was with him, where he was heading, or exactly where he was coming from,” the Ayadaw Township PDT officer said. “It’s very hard to investigate these matters within the township.” Ko Nyi Nyi was active in civil society organisations, serving as secretary of the Mandalay Regional Youth Affairs Committee during the civilian government of the National League for Democracy party. Military authorities arrested him in July 2021 for participating in protests against the coup, sentencing him to three years in prison. Following his early release in May 2023, he joined the armed resistance against the military regime. The YRF is headquartered in Sagaing Region and is active in fighting against regime forces in collaboration with local resistance groups. “We hope that, by holding the culprits accountable, justice will be served for our comrade and the truth about the case will be revealed. We also hope that such incidents will never happen again,” YRF member Myat Thu said. Three years after the military coup, the resistance has extended its control over most rural villages in Sagaing Region, which have become the front line of the conflict between the resistance and junta forces. However, the junta remains in control in most urban areas, where its troops are stationed. Ayadaw Township, located east of Sagaing Region’s administrative capital of Monywa, is a known stronghold of Myanmar’s anti-junta armed resistance. In territory under its control, the resistance is also operating its own, independent administrative apparatus. In early July, 16-year-old Myint Myat Oo, an 11th-grade student and member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, was found dead with a knife wound to the neck in Sagaing Region’s Wetlet Township, another area controlled by resistance forces. NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt said that the suspect in Myint Myat Oo’s murder was apprehended and is currently facing trial. However, anti-dictatorship activists have argued that the NUG is doing too little to address crimes or mediate conflicts arising among anti-junta armed groups in Sagaing Region. Chaw Su Han, an activist known for leading protests against the military dictatorship, has said that the NUG’s weakness and delays in adjudicating disputes and enforcing the law creates serious dangers for resistance forces on the battle lines. “When there is a delay in addressing these issues, other armed groups may think, ‘We can kill them, we can get away with it, because no action has been taken against those who did it before, so we can do it too,’” Chaw Su Han said. “The NUG is all talk and no action,” he continued. “They issue statements but don’t take concrete steps. As a result, other groups believe they can act with impunity.”

Resistance investigating murder of one of its fighters in Sagaing Region

A National Unity Government (NUG) investigation into the murder of an armed group’s leader is proceeding amid criticism that the resistance’s governing body is too slow to address crimes and internal disputes affecting its members

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