Six assailants armed with knives attacked the family of a village administrator in Sagaing Region’s Kalay Township on Sunday, killing his wife and adult daughter, but not their chief target.
Maung Maung Soe, the village administrator, was stabbed twice before he managed to fight off his attackers and escape, residents of Pyitawthar, where the incident occurred, told Myanmar Now.
He survived, but his wife, 46-year-old Hlaing Hlaing Win, and their daughter, 22-year-old Aye Mya Mya Mhwe, both succumbed to their injuries, the sources said.
“The wife and daughter of the administrator died in the attack but the administrator himself survived. That’s the latest confirmed news we’ve heard,” one man said.
A younger daughter was spared in the attack, he added.
“They told the child that they wouldn’t harm her. It was only after she informed some relatives that the rest of the village learned what had happened,” said the villager, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Although Maung Maung Soe was likely the intended victim of the attack, it appears that the other adult members of the family may also have been deliberately targeted.
According to residents of the village, the family often abused its power and accused anyone it disliked of being a member of the anti-regime People’s Defence Force (PDF).
“They would regularly summon the military to show off their power and authority,” said one villager. “If they didn’t like you, they would report you to the military and say you were with the PDF.”
A number of people, including one man who banged pots and pans in a show of opposition to the regime, were arrested because the family had turned them in, the villager added.
In another incident described by Pyitawthar residents, the family allegedly had some youths who were playing with firecrackers arrested for throwing a grenade at their home.
One woman said that Maung Maung Soe’s wife, Hlaing Hlaing Win, had set up CCTV cameras in front of their home to record the movements of other residents of the village.
Hlaing Hlaing Win was known to be a member of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, and their daughter was widely suspected of being a military informant, local sources said.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently confirm any of these claims.
Residents said police arrived within minutes of the attack, followed soon after by three military vehicles. Soldiers opened fire several times while securing the area, they added.
Most of Pyidawthar’s more than 600 households have since fled the village fearing reprisals from the military, according to one woman who did not want to be identified.
“Some fled as soon as the military started shooting last night, while others waited until this morning. We couldn’t even bring our belongings,” she said on Monday.
A 50-year-old man was reportedly arrested on Sunday in connection with the incident, while a young man and woman were detained the next day, according to sources.
Myanmar Now attempted to contact relatives of the victims and local police authorities for additional information, but did not receive a response.
