U Than Myint, the brother of the NUG's human rights advisor, was assassinated in Yangon's Dawbon Township on Tuesday. / U Aung Kyaw Moe's Facebook
U Than Myint, the elder brother of U Aung Kyaw Moe, a Rohingya human rights advisor for the civilian National Unity Government (NUG), was killed by unknown assailants in Yangon on Wednesday night, according to the NUG.
The 45-year-old was stabbed to death by attackers at 11pm as he was returning home from his pharmacy shop in Dawbon Township.
On Thursday, U Aung Kyaw Moe wrote on Facebook that his elder brother was killed after his family connection became public knowledge.
“I feel inconsolable because I couldn’t even see his face or do anything for his funeral,” the human rights advisor said.
“Those who stand for justice and the Spring Revolution have lost too much. They are sacrificing not only their wealth and living conditions but also their family members,” said U Aung Kyaw Moe.
The killing of U Than Myint came just 24 hours after two other suspected targeted murders in Yangon Region. Pre-school teachers Daw Thae Marlar Win, 42, and Ma Saung Thazin Oo, 24, were shot dead by four assailants at their house in Htan Ta Bin Township. The victims were the mother and sister, respectively, of Ko Kaung Zarni Hein, one of two people detained by the junta over the murder of singer Lily Naing Kyaw, an ultranationalist singer and staunch junta supporter, according to media reports.
The suspected assassinations came just hours after the military regime reported on Tuesday morning that it had managed to arrest the two resistance members who killed the singer.
The singer was gunned down in front of her house in Yangon’s Yankin Township on May 30 and died of her injuries seven days later.
Resistance members are targeting junta-appointed administrators, pro-regime militia members and informants for aiding the military regime’s ruthless crackdown on the nationwide popular uprising.
In retaliation, Pyu Saw Htee militias and other pro-junta groups trained and armed by the regime, including Thwe Tout and Swun Ye, are killing members and supporters of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD), as well as family members and relatives of NLD members and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) across the country.