Four men and a woman have been killed in Mandalay Division’s Nyaung-U township on two successive days, locals said Wednesday.
At around 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Myint Zaw, 48, the younger brother of National League for Democracy MP Myint Sein was seized by around 20 people in plain clothes, according to locals. They said his body was found the following morning near the train line that runs past Nyaung-U town.
NLD member Kyaw Win, 68, was also killed on Monday as he returned home after being forced to flee from taking part in unspecified political activities, the Nyaung-U residents said.
The two were arrested and killed by plain clothes military intelligence officers and members of the junta-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia, according to locals. RFA has not been able to confirm the claim.
Seven men in plain clothes also snatched two men and a woman from Sint Ku village around noon on Sunday, residents said. Their bodies were discovered near a hospital the following morning.
“They have not done anything political and have been away from the [NLD] party for a long time.” a resident, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, told RFA.
“At the beginning, I thought they were just taken in for questioning, but all three bodies were found in the morning. One man, Win Aung Moe, was found with his hands tied behind his back.”
Apart from 52-year-old Win Aung Moe, the dead have been identified as Nyein Chan Min, a 40-year-old man and Thaw Me, a 30-year-old woman. The bodies were cremated on Tuesday.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) 2,336 pro-democracy activists and other civilians have been killed by the junta in the 20 months since last year’s coup.