The anti-junta People’s Defence Force (PDF) chapter in Magway Township, located in the region by the same name, claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the assassination of an information officer for a military-owned news outlet.
Kyauk Yine, a spokesperson for the Magway PDF, told Myanmar Now that on Saturday his group had killed 50-year-old Nyan Toe, who worked as the head of the information and communications department for junta mouthpiece Myawady News in Pauk, some 200km north of Magway town.
The victim reportedly resisted interrogation by the resistance force who were following up on claims that he had been working as a military informant.
“We found him in the northern part of Pauk town and we were forced to kill him as he tried to fight back with a knife while we were trying to question him,” Kyauk Yine said.
Citing military sources, the Magway PDF spokesperson said that Nyan Toe was active within a junta-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia. The groups have been known to accompany troops in village raids throughout central and northwestern Myanmar.
“It is certain that he was a Pyu Saw Htee leader,” Kyauk Yine told Myanmar Now. “He didn’t operate alone but he would serve as a guide for the soldiers while they were torching villages. He would also serve as an informant, giving information about the PDF to the military.”
Myanmar Now has been unable to independently verify the allegations against Nyan Toe, or to obtain comment from his family members, junta officials or Pauk locals.
The Myanmar army set fire to homes in at least 16 villages in southern Pauk Township in April alone, according to locals, who said seven of the communities were completely destroyed, and 12 villagers were killed by junta forces during that period.
