Myanmar

Drunk soldiers taunt, kill civilian at Sagaing Region ferry port

A man was shot in the head at point-blank range on Tuesday afternoon in Mingin, Sagaing Region by soldiers who appeared to be drunk, according to an eyewitness. 

Zaw Myo Myint, a 39-year-old man from Kyun Taw village, was sitting on the pavement at the Chindwin River ferry port when he was killed. 

Myanmar army soldiers at the port started taunting Zaw Myo Myint—who was chewing betel nut—for not wearing a face mask, an eyewitness also from Kyun Taw told Myanmar Now.

“I even begged them to spare him but they started beating him up as they asked for his name. Then, out of nowhere, they shot him in the head. The whole half of his head was shattered in a split second,” he said.  

The eyewitness who was also a friend of the victim, said that the soldiers accused Zaw Myo Myint of lying when he initially said he was from Mingin town, but later admitted he was from the village of Kyun Taw (West), in the same township. 

“Honestly, he was innocent. It was nothing but an abuse of power,” the eyewitness told Myanmar Now. 

He said he heard three gunshots at the moment Zaw Myo Myint was killed, and that a stray bullet hit a woman who was also sitting on the pavement nearby. 

Locals identified the second victim as Zin Mar Win. Myanmar Now was unable to confirm the extent of her injuries at the time of reporting. 

Zaw Myo Myint was at the port on Tuesday to accompany two friends who were travelling to Mingin by ferry. 

He repaired electronic appliances for a living, and leaves behind a wife and a son and daughter both under the age of 10, as well as another infant son with a chronic bone condition. 

Both the eyewitness to the murder and another Mingin resident said Zaw Myo Myint’s family still did not know where his body had been taken by the military authorities. 

“His father came to check on him but he had to turn back as the soldiers had surrounded the body,” the Mingin resident said. “His wife is sitting frozen at home, not knowing what to do. No one dares to go ask for his body and nothing has been heard about it either.” 

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the number of civilians killed by the Myanmar junta’s armed forces since the military coup on February 1 surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday. 

Thursday will mark 200 days since the coup.

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