Junta troops killed a member of the Chinland Defense Force and his father, local residents told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.
Soldiers in Magway region’s Saw town ambushed Mang Kui, a Chin Christian pastor, while he was visiting friends in the area on Tuesday. The reason for the attack is still unknown.
“The pastor wasn’t in Saw for very long. A plain-clothes man shot him in the head at close range,” a local said, declining to be named for fear of reprisals. “After that, about 20 junta soldiers were in camouflage near the body.”
The man’s son, Chinland Defense Force battalion deputy commander Salai Lii Mang, was nearby and went to retrieve the body later that day. However, junta troops shot and killed him when he arrived.
“At that time, the deputy battalion commander got the news of his father and came in,” the local said. “But he was shot in his chest. Although he backed off, he died. The body of the pastor was taken to the army.”
Junta troops opened fire on the surrounding area and tried to arrest locals after the incident, he added, causing many to flee.
RFA contacted Magway region’s junta spokesperson Than Swe Win by phone for comment on the shooting, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Tensions are high on the border of Magway region and Chin state, said a member of Kanpetlet town’s Chinland Defense Force, adding that a battle could break out any time in Saw city.
Military forces have killed five Christian pastors and three deacons in the first two and a half years since the February 2021 coup.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.