Striking Civil Servant Shot Dead by Myanmar Security Forces

By The Irrawaddy 29 March 2021

A striking government employee of the Ayeyarwady Region Parliament Office was shot dead on Sunday evening, after security forces fired live rounds in residential wards in the Ayeyarwady Region capital Pathein.

As of Sunday, at least 452 civilian anti-coup protesters have been killed in crackdowns by the military regime.

Ko Zin Lin Aung, 26, was shot in the throat around 9 pm on Sunday while he was on night watch at a makeshift barricade on a main road set up by local residents to prevent security forces from entering residential wards. He died immediately. Two other people were injured in the shooting.

“There is a barricade on Bantbwegon Street to prevent the security forces from coming into the wards. He was on night watch there last night and the security forces opened fired with live rounds. A bullet hit his throat and he died on the spot,” said a family member of Ko Zin Lin Aung.

“Security forces fired shots in nearby wards before they came to our barricade. Ko Zin Lin Aung was holding a steel shield. The bullet penetrated his shield and hit his throat. After the shooting, the security forces demolished the barricade,” said a Pathein resident who was present at the barricade.

Security forces also rampaged through wards and shot at anyone on the streets, said local residents. Seven civilians have died during crackdowns on anti-regime protesters in Pathein, which is the headquarters of the military’s South-Western Command.

 

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