At Least 12 Civilians Killed by Myanmar Junta in Week

By The Irrawaddy 27 August 2021

At least 12 civilians, including a 72-year-old man and 10-year-old boy, have been killed by junta forces in Myanmar in a week.

On Thursday night, junta soldiers opened fire indiscriminately in 122nd Street near a market in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township in Yangon Region, killing U Thein Min Tun, 42, a vendor, who was shot in the neck. His body was found in an alley and taken away by soldiers and returned to the family on Friday for a funeral.

Pedestrians and vendors fled and residents said the unprovoked shooting was in response to taunts from drunken men. Soldiers also destroyed parked vehicles, residents said.

At least three deaths were reported on Wednesday.

Salai Van Bawi Thang, 10, was shot dead during gunfire by junta forces in Thantlang Township, Chin State. The incident happened amid a shootout with civilian defense forces on Wednesday evening. Van Bawi Thang was hit in the neck and other civilians were injured, news outlets reported.

Ko Thet Naing Soe, a 29-year-old philanthropist living in Monywa, Sagaing Region, died in detention, less than 24 hours after being apprehended. He was detained on Tuesday and on Wednesday his mother was informed of his death, a resident told The Irrawaddy.

Junta forces blamed COVID-19 for his death but his mother told the media that she found torture marks on his body, including cigarettes burns on his cheeks, blood in his ears and fatal head injuries.

In Yangon, philanthropist Ko San Win Aung, 19, from the Kaung Hmu Saung Charity, was killed during military interrogation on Wednesday. He was detained under suspicion of involvement in a bomb blast at the General Administration Department in South Okkalapa Township on August 22.

A source close to his family told The Irrawaddy that troops asked the family to pay to retrieve his body. As the family could not pay, the body has not been returned. Ko San Win Aung volunteered with his group to help the sick and needy during the COVID-19 surge. He was taken from the charity’s office.

Ko Soe Paing, also known as Ko Kyaw Khaing Win, a private teacher from Thaketa Township, Yangon Region, was detained by junta forces on August 22 and the next day his family was informed of his death.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which monitors fatalities and detention since the February coup, reported that Ko Min Aung of Kayan Township, Yangon Region, was tortured to death in detention on the day of his arrest. He was detained by junta troops on Tuesday while passing Kayan police station on a motorbike while returning from his mother’s house.

Kan Htauk, 72, was kicked and punched to death on August 18 during a raid on Hnan Khar village in Gangaw Township, Magwe Region. He died on Saturday.

Since the coup, at least 1,019 civilians have been killed by junta forces, according to the AAPP. The dead have included pedestrians, children, protesters, medics who helped the injured during crackdowns on protests and members of the National League for Democracy.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar’s Shadow Government Plans COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

China Doesn’t Want Myanmar’s NLD Dissolved: Informed Sources

Seoul Calls for Return to Democracy in Myanmar, Backs Shadow Govt