Govt Administrator Shot in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

By Lawi Weng 23 January 2020

An administrator in Kyaukme Township in northern Shan State was shot twice and wounded while he traveled home from work, according to the police.

U Myint Oo Kywe, a clerk at the General Administration Department, was heading home from Mong Tin Village. He was stopped at 5 p.m. by two assailants. The village is around 3 kilometers from Kyaukme.

“He was wounded in the ear and stomach, but it was not life threatening,” U Aung Htay Win, a Kyaukme police officer, told The Irrawaddy.

He said the men would be charged with attempted murder if caught.

U Myint Oo Kywe was treated at the hospital in Kyaukme before being transferred to Lashio to increase his security, according to the police.

He visited staff doing community work in Mong Tin yesterday morning and was returning in the early evening.

The two men stopped him on his way back to Kyaukme.

U Myint Oo Kywe tried to take out his firearm when he saw the two assailants, which might have saved his life, said the police officer.

No arrests had been made, said U Aung Htay Win.

Murders are common in Kyaukme and the police have failed to push through prosecutions in the lawless area.

Three village chiefs from Mong Tin were killed in Kyaukme in November last year. A Buddhist monk and an ex-army officer were also killed.

Kyaukme has been at the center of the conflict between the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Myanmar’s army.

Fighting has often occurred between the army and TNLA and there is also conflict between the TNLA and RCSS.