By Zwe Ko / MPA

A member of the Pyu Saw Htee militia group from Thuyethumein Village in Waw Township, Bago Region, was abducted and killed by the military on suspicion of being associated with revolutionary forces, according to locals.

On the night of August 21, 2024, Ko Aung Naing, a 50-year-old Pyu Saw Htee militia member from Thuyethumein Village, was at home when junta soldiers arrived and arrested him, according to a local woman from the village.

“He was taken to the military compound and appeared to have been tortured. He died at home. He had severe injuries from beatings, and he passed away before reaching the hospital,” the source added.

The victim, Ko Aung Naing, was recognized by some villagers as a member of the Pyu Saw Htee militia group and had previously attended short-term military training according to a 40-year-old villager from Thuyethumein Village.

“He was usually involved in charitable activities in the village and drove vehicles to Myawaddy. There might be internal conflicts and some members may have reported him to the military. So, he was abducted and killed during interrogation,” the above-mentioned man explained.

Earlier in 2024, a male villager was similarly arrested and killed by the military following a revolutionary group’s assassination of a 10 houses group elder in Thuyethumein Village, according to a 50-year-old political activist woman from Waw Township.

“At the time, the military couldn’t capture the revolutionaries who had come and shot, so they abducted and killed a young man who had previously participated in protests, despite him being uninvolved in the incident. There are around 30 Pyu Saw Htee militia members in that village,” said the woman.

Ko Aung Naing, who was recently arrested and killed by the military, had no connection to the revolutionary forces, according to a representative of the Waw Township People’s Defense Team.

“He had no relation to our group. They must have found some excuse to kill him. The law no longer applies, so they can just kill whoever they are displeased with,” the representative said.

On November 27, 2023, KNLA and joined forces attacked the Thuyethumein Village police station, killing seven junta soldiers and losing one revolutionary. After the attack, the military arrested more than five civilians from the village.

In recent days, the military has been pressuring local administrators to form Pyu Saw Htee militias in wards and villages within Waw Township, including Thuyethumein Village.

However, after seven officials from village and ward administration of the military junta in the western Bago Region, were assassinated in August, many administrators fled, leaving local governance defunct.