BANGKOK (AP) – Security forces in military-controlled Myanmar have apprehended a six-year-old girl alongside 15 individuals believed to be connected to the assassination of a retired high-ranking army official, as reported by state media on Friday.
The former brigadier general, Cho Tun Aung, aged 68, was fatally shot in front of his residence in Mayangon, Yangon, the nation’s largest city.
An extremist faction known as the Golden Valley Warriors has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The killing of former ambassador to Cambodia, Jung Aung, marks yet another assault on individuals linked to the ruling regime amid Myanmar’s descent into civil war following the military’s ousting of the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
According to Myanmar’s state-run Global Light, 16 suspects (13 men and 3 women) were detained across four regions between May 23 and May 29. The reports revealed that Jung Aung was shot while strolling with his grandson.
Among those detained is Lin Latt Shwe, the six-year-old daughter of an alleged assassin who is reported to have multiple aliases. The child and her parents were taken into custody in Bagan Central City.
Other individuals arrested reportedly include the owners of private hospitals accused of providing medical assistance to the shooter, according to newspaper sources.
The Golden Valley Warriors stated in a Facebook post shortly after the murder that Jung Aung was involved in teaching internal security and anti-terrorism at Myanmar’s National Defense University.
The targets of such assassinations are often high-ranking military personnel, both active and retired, in addition to business associates of the ruling generals and companies viewed as informants or collaborators with the military. Senior civil servants and local officials have also been subjected to attacks.
The ruling party’s army Village bombing incidents have resulted in numerous civilian casualties.
Source: apnews.com