Three people, including the leader of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), were shot dead in an assassination in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, on the morning of January 4, an official from ALP confirmed.
They were shot on their way back from a Myanmar Independence Day ceremony on the morning of Jan. 4, ethnic party vice chairman Daw Saw Mra Razar Linn told Network Media Group (NMG).
“A commander went to check who had been hit on the roadside. When the commander arrived at the scene, he informed the township commander because the victims were his own people. I didn’t hear about it until three hours later, so I can’t say anything specific yet. They were killed and that is what happened,” said Daw Saw Mra Razar Linn.
Residents said they were shot dead near Hse Tan in Set Yone Su ward while returning from the Independence Day celebration held at Wai Thar Li Stadium in Sittwe.
Daw Saw Mra Razar Linn confirmed that it was true that the military chief and battalion commander of ALP were among those killed.
“I don’t want to say anything about that. They just killed them because they wanted to. They are dead and that is what happened. That’s all I want to say. Auntie (referring to herself) will have a hard time saying it. That is all Auntie wants to say right now. I just want to say that the security situation in Arakan State has become so bad,” she added.
Local residents told ALP, that military chief Khaing Saw Mra, battalion commander Khaing Kyaw Soe and Captain Khaing Thurein were shot at close range by unidentified gunmen.
The victims had puncture wounds in the head, chin, body and thigh, media reports from Arakan State quoted eyewitnesses as saying.
The bodies of those killed, including the deceased ALP leader, were kept at the Sittwe hospital morgue, according to local residents.
The ALP is the organization that signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and was also among the groups that participated in the meeting between five ceasefire signatories and the military council last December.
Although the ALP met with the military council and stated that it will work for peace and development in Arakan State, it was criticized by the Arakan community for not achieving positive results for the state.
Sent by NMG.