Two journalists were reportedly among four people executed by Myanmar’s junta during a house raid in Kyaikto Township, Mon State, on Wednesday.
The raid in Lett Pya village allegedly targeted a house sheltering resistance fighters but among those killed were Ko Win Htut Oo of the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and freelance journalist Ko Htet Myat Thu.
Sources said more than 20 troops stormed Ko Htet Myat Thu’s home. Two of his friends, who were allegedly Kyaikto Revolution Force (KRF) members, were also killed. The homeowner, Ko Htet Myat Thu’s grandmother, who is in her 90s, was severely injured. Two others escaped from the house.
A friend of Ko Htet Myat Thu told The Irrawaddy: “The troops did not give back the bodies to the family and cremated them at Taunggalay cemetery on Wednesday.”
Pro-junta Telegram channels said it was a clearance operation based on informant reports that KRF members were at the home. The reports said all those four killed were KRF members.
The pro-junta reports said KRF members shot back and troops seized three pistols, 40 bullets and four magazines.
But residents said there was no shooting, the KRF members were just visiting and in civilian clothes and no weapons were found.
Both Ko Htet Myat Thu and Ko Win Htut Oo reported on the conflict in Mon State and junta atrocities against civilians. They faced repeated threats and risks of being arrested and killed.
Ma Khin Yupar of DVB said: “Ko Win Htut Oo was a really committed journalist. He always asked for our advice when he wanted to write unbiased news while working from liberated areas. He was a promising young journalist. He was shot dead when he returned to junta territory because he wanted to write news freely.”
Ko Win Htut Oo was involved in the anti-military protests after the 2021 coup and faced a junta arrest warrant.
He started writing daily stories on Mon State for DVB last year.
Ko Htet Myat Thu had worked with Mon media groups, like the Thanlyin Times, since the coup.
In March 2021, he was shot in the leg by junta troops while photographing an anti-regime protest in Kyaikto. He was jailed with a bullet wound.
He was released from Kyaikto prison after six months and did freelance work, including for the mainstream media, his former colleagues said.
Since the 2021 coup, more than 170 media employees have been arrested by the junta and around 60 remain behind bars.
At least seven journalists have been killed by the junta, according to the Independent Press Council of Myanmar.
Toe Zaw Latt, the council’s secretary, said: “It is a war crime. The regime intentionally killed journalists at the house. It is not enough just to say we condemn their acts. This time we need an effective step-by-step response.”
