Staff at Kyimyindaing administrative office targeted in stabbing attacks 

Two staff members from the General Administration Department office in Yangon’s Kyimyindaing Township were injured during knife attacks this week, residents who live near the office said. 

The first attack happened at around noon on Monday when fifty-one-year-old Nan Thein, who works as the office driver, was stabbed several times by an unidentified man about 20 yards from the premises.

“After being stabbed, Nan Thein fell to the ground. Then [the assailant] stabbed him again from above–back and neck–and then ran away,” said one witness. 

Nan Thein was still unconscious in hospital, he added. 

The driver was sent to the emergency department of the West Yangon General Hospital, according to a letter from the township administrator addressed to the district level office.

Another resident said Nan Thein was targeted because he was believed to be an informer.

“One reason is because he was an informer, and another reason is because there were some grudges against him,” she told Myanmar Now. 

In recent months he kept guard near the office and reported any anti-regime activity he saw to the police, she alleged.

The morning after Nan Thein was attacked, at about 10am, a man entered the office and attacked Wai Tint Aung, an office worker, leaving him with cuts on both hands, said the woman. The motive for the attack against him was unclear. 

Wai Tint Aung was among four office workers, including a deputy township administrator, who were inside at the time of the attack, another resident said. 

After the attacks soldiers and police patrolled outside the office and stopped and questioned people in the area, according to the residents. 

Staff at the General Administration Department could not be reached for comment. 

Residents of Kyimyindaing came out in force to oppose the new regime as protests erupted in the wake of the February 1 coup. 

This is the first time people linked to the regime have been targeted in the township, residents said.