Former community administrator shot dead in Phayathonezu

A former ward administrator was shot and killed on the morning of December 5 in Phayathonezu, a town bordering Thailand, in Kyainseikgyi Township, Kayin State, locals sources said. 

The victim was named U Myat Kyaw, aged 68, living in Ward No.3 of Phayathonezu.  Three gunmen arrived and opened fire while he was at his home on the morning of December 5, said a local resident.

“"Both he and his wife, 52-year-old Daw Aye Myint, were shot. He died at the scene and his wife sustained a bullet wound to the right thigh,” he added.

He said that U Myat Kyaw had previously served as an administrator of Ward No.3, and that he did not know why he was shot by an armed group.

On November 23, local residents said that Major Aye Chan, deputy commanding officer of Infantry Battalion-97 based in Kawkareik was shot and killed by a sniper at a barbershop in Phayathonezu.

On October 19 also, a man named U Than Tun living in Ward No.3 of Phayathonezu was shot and wounded near his home.

According to local sources, some local residents in Phayathonezu have been murdered. Among those killed were a parliamentary candidate from Mon Unity Party, a chairman of Phayathonezu Union Solidarity and Development Party and a member of the border guard force.