
An attack on a car on Wednesday afternoon by men believed to be junta troops has left at least one dead in the Shan State capital of Taunggyi, local sources told Myanmar Now.
Four residents confirmed to Myanmar Now that plainclothes military council members opened fire on a Honda Fit driving down Yan Gyi Aung Rd in Mingalar Oo ward at around 2pm, causing it to crash.
Citing an eyewitness, a local woman said that at least one man in the car had died in the incident; other unconfirmed reports have suggested that up to three people were killed.
The local woman said that she believed that the plainclothes shooters were junta soldiers.
“One person died. The car is in total ruins. They have got to be part of the military—how would civilians have that kind of firepower? It’s clear why they were operating in plainclothes: they’re scared,” the woman told Myanmar Now.
Further details about the victim were still unknown at the time of reporting.
Another woman residing in the ward said that soon after shots were fired at the car, around 10 vehicles carrying men in plainclothes showed up at a house on Yan Gyi Aung St and arrested one man.
“The plainclothes armed forces surrounded a house near the banyan tree and took a young man from there. It was around 2:30pm,” she said.
Local news outlets also reported that an explosion took place in front of the township electricity office in Kan Auk ward at around 4pm, and that a car was damaged and a civilian injured.
The active anti-dictatorship protests in Taunggyi that followed the February 1 military coup were targeted in brutal crackdowns by the junta’s armed forces, causing mass public demonstrations to be replaced by smaller groups of people organising in recent months. In June, assaults on the military’s administrative mechanisms began in the city.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has reported that 911 civilians have been killed by the junta since February. The military council, which rejects the AAPP’s figures, has yet to release a detailed statement on the deaths of the civilians.