Two figures known for their support of the military have been targeted for assassination in Yangon since last Friday.
Tint Lwin, a public figure who led parades and other activities to spread pro-military and nationalist messages, was shot dead at around noon on May 26. Lily Naing Kyaw, a singer and propagandist for the military council, was shot only four days later, on Tuesday evening.
An unidentified gunman shot Tint Lwin in the head at the Shwe Thukha tea shop in Ward 48 of North Dagon Township, Yangon, on May 26. He died at the scene.
Tint Lwin was chair of the Myanmar National Organisation, a group that supports the military. Along with a Buddhist nationalist group known by its Burmese acronym Ma Ba Tha, he actively took part in pro-military parades and demonstrated against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during the administration of her party, the National League for Democracy.
He survived a previous attack by three gunmen at a tea shop in 2022, but incurred severe injuries.
According to a Facebook page belonging to Ven. Thusita, a member of the Nationalist Monks Union who was friends with Tint Lwin, his funeral was held at a military hospital in the Aye Nyein community hall in Yangon, and the body was cremated at a military cemetery on May 28. Tint Lwin was 67 years old at the time of his death.
Photos on Ven. Thusita’s page showed that other prominent ultranationalists and supporters of the junta such as Win Ko Ko Latt, Naing Thu Latt, and Myat Bhone Moh attended the funeral.
Lily Naing Kyaw, a vocalist who frequently expressed support for the military council, was attacked in front of her house in Ward 2 of Yankin Township at around 7pm on Tuesday.
She was shot in the right temple and taken to a military hospital. Her current condition is unconfirmed.
The 58-year-old singer was a close associate of top junta officials. An urban guerrilla group claimed responsibility for the attempted assassination but asked not be identified, and said they had tried to eliminate her for passing important information about resistance forces to the military council.
No organisation has yet claimed responsibility for Tint Lwin’s assassination.
