Six people, including two young girls and a monk, were killed in the Kachin State town of Hopin on Sunday after a group of heavily armed men opened fire in a teashop, according to local sources.
A resident of the town who witnessed the incident said that the gunmen arrived at the Htoo Hteik San teashop at around 8am and immediately started shooting.
“Four or five men in masks got out of a car. I think they were carrying AK-47 rifles. They fired around 50 rounds. There were bullet shells all over the place,” he said.
The shooting resulted in the deaths of two girls, aged 7 and 14, and a monk. Three other people were also killed, and at least 13 were injured, according to the witness.
Eight of the victims were reportedly being treated for their injuries at a hospital in the state capital Myitkyina, but Myanmar Now was unable to obtain any further details about their condition.
Although the identity of the assailants was not known, many local residents said they believed the attack was carried out in retaliation for the killing of Tun Tun Oo, a suspected regime informant who was shot dead in the town on October 29.
The 48-year-old Tun Tun Oo was allegedly a member of Pyu Saw Htee, a pro-regime group that routinely targets opponents of the junta that seized power on February 1.
“This was definitely the work of the Pyu Saw Htee group. They must have been angry about the death of the guy infamous for being a military informant and Pyu Saw Htee member,” said one Hopin local who spoke to Myanmar Now on condition of anonymity.
The anti-regime Kachin People’s Defence Force (Hopin) released a statement on Monday denying any involvement in the incident, which it also said was likely carried out by Pyu Saw Htee.
The regime has not issued a statement about the shooting, and a junta spokesperson contacted by Myanmar Now did not respond to a request for comment.
Residents of Hopin said the teashop was probably targeted because of its popularity with backers of the ousted ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
“The teashop was a place where NLD supporters commonly met. Protest leaders used to dine at the shop in the evenings during the protests,” one resident said.
Hopin is located in Mohnyin Township, about 125km southwest of Myitkyina. It lies within territory controlled the Kachin Independence Army’s Brigade 8 and saw large anti-coup rallies in the wake of the military takeover.
