Myanmar Civil Servant Murdered in Rakhine State
By The Irrawaddy 23 December 2021
A General Administration Department (GAD) clerk was murdered with his throat slit in Rakhine State, western Myanmar.
Ko Hsan Htay Naing, 26, was found dead, at Maungdaw’s jetty on Thursday, according to Ko Chit Htoo Khine, chairman of the Maungdaw-based charity, Compassion Network.
“We found his body this morning at the jetty. His throat had been slit and his face was swollen. We sent the body to the hospital,” he told The Irrawaddy.
The victim was originally assigned to Myint Lutt town in Maungdaw, but he had been working at Maungdaw Township GAD following the mass exodus of Rohingya into Bangladesh over the past few years.
Residents fear communal violence will break out between Buddhist and Muslim communities because of the murder, said U Maung Ohn, a former state parliamentarian and Maungdaw resident.
“People fear conflicts will break out. Everyone is watching. It is unknown why he was killed. The authorities said they are searching for suspects,” he told The Irrawaddy.
On Tuesday, harvested rice was set on fire in paddy fields in Kan Nwar, a Muslim village in Buthidaung Township, Maungdaw District.
There have been a number of arson attacks on harvested paddy and machinery in several Rakhine villages near Muslim villages in Kyaukphyu, Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships since early December. In some villages, cattle – which are often still used to work farmland – had their legs cut.
Following a spate of incidents, the ethnically Rakhine Arakan Army said on Dec. 17 that it fears a group is trying to cause tensions.
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