Some of the protest leaders/students’ union members from Mandalay were arrested yesterday evening. One of them was identified to be Ko Kyaw Thiha, a second year Myanmar language specialized student from the University of Mandalay. According to a fellow protester, Ko Kyaw Thiha’s motorbike was shoved off by a private car before he was abducted. In a video footage that circulated on Facebook, Ko Kyaw Thiha was surrounded by plain-clothed policemen/soldiers and taken into a sedan car as his motorbike was handled by one of the men. Reports mentioned that another prominent protest leader Ma Pi Ti was also snatched by junta’s soldiers in the same evening.
More attacks on junta’s lackeys continued. This morning around 5am, a dalan (military informer) called Tin Hla from Kamaryut Township was found dead in his compound. The 60-year-old man had a bullet hole in his forehead and found in a water bucket normally used for laundry purposes in what seemed like a crime scene out of a gangster movie. Few people could sympathize with the way the old man had to go and the picture was shared among social media users mockingly saying “a man just wanted his shirt clean”. Regime soldiers arrived at the scene shortly with excessive force but the culprit was long gone.
An explosion took place at the entrance gate of Salin Township in Magway Region. One policeman was killed and at least two others were severely injured according to DVB news. No group has claimed responsibility of the attack which saw junta’s forces arriving at the location and inspecting the passers-by afterwards.
On the same day, an interim ward administrator of South Dagon called U Nyan Htun, also a former United Solidarity Development Party member, was shot to death. Two unidentified gunmen came into his office around 11am and fired three shots, one into the head, killing him on the spot. In the meantime, murders of civilians have not decreased. Two employees of Myanmar CNICO Mining Company were shot and killed around 6pm yesterday in Htee Gyaint Township of Sagaing Region. A youth member of National League for Democracy (NLD) called Ko Kyawthu Oo was killed in Mattaya Township of Mandalay Region and the location map of his dead body was only discovered on 15 August.
Another innocent man was killed by junta’s forces in Mingin Township of Sagaing Region this afternoon. According to Myanmar Now media, regime’s soldiers assigned at the ferry gate of Monywa-Mingin drunkenly shot Ko Zaw Myo Myint to dead and injured two women sitting close-by. Locals said that one of the women have also passed away but it’s not verified yet. Ko Zaw Myo Myint is survived by the wife and three young kids.
National Unity Government’s interim president Duwa Lashi La said during a regular meeting today that a battle must be set up to protect the people of Myanmar. He said, “NUG must prepare for a battle in order to protect the daily losses of the people. We are planning everything accordingly to decide the time to strike and we will take the decision up with the cabinet afterwards. The president also added that, “To receive international recognition at the UN Assembly’s next month is crucial. We are forming respective council to achieve that goal”.
The number of junta’s soldiers joining the civil disobedience movement (CDM) has reached over 1,500 according to Myanmar Now’s interview with Captain Lin Htet Aung who also switched to the good since early April. It was only 800 until early June and it was doubled up in two month’ time. He also said that he received calls from fellow soldiers who want to join the CDM on daily basic.
