Local members of the military council in Mandalay Region were shot in recent days by unidentified gunmen in attacks that killed two men and left two others injured, according to local sources.
Aung Naing, the junta-appointed administrator of Aung Chan Thar village in Pyin Oo Lwin Township, was shot dead at his house on Monday, a resident said. The next day, a member of the administration committee for Par Ae village in the same township was also shot and sustained an injury to his left arm.
“People say he was shot at about eight times,” the individual told Myanmar Now, citing eyewitnesses.
The administration committee member was reportedly admitted to the Pyin Oo Lwin military hospital for treatment.
Two other men were shot on Wednesday, one fatally, according to two more locals.
Targeted first was Thein Htun Zaw, chief of the Aung Pinlae police station in Chanmyathazi Township, who reportedly suffered a severe injury to his arm when he was shot at 9:30am on 103rd St, which connects the cities of Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin.
“Two men chased him and shot him when he was on his way back home after getting his motorcycle repaired,” a local source said.
One hour later, 57-year-old Win Tin, the former 100-household head in Taekone village in Patheingyi Township, was shot in the head and died.
It was not clear if Win Tin had ties to the military council.
Anti-junta guerrilla forces have been known to carry out targeted assassinations of junta staff nationwide and were presumed to be behind the recent attacks, but no such groups had claimed responsibility at the time of reporting.
Myanmar Now has reached out to police stations in the area for comment, but received no response.
Locals in Pyin Oo Lwin said that junta troops had been carrying out searches and inspections throughout the city since the shootings.
Resistance to the military has been strong throughout Mandalay Region since last year’s February coup. The military council has attempted to crush anti-junta forces through widespread arrests, forced evictions and even the murder of individuals deemed to have ties to the movement.