Guerrillas kill Myanmar’s top election official

Bangkok, April 23

A top election official in Myanmar was fatally shot in his car in Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, in the latest attack attributed to militants opposed to military rule.

Sai Kyaw Thu, deputy director-general of the military-appointed Union Election Commission, was shot multiple times on Saturday, according to the military’s information office, media reports and a statement of responsibility from an urban guerrilla group.

The information office on Sunday said the attack was carried out by the People’s Defence Force, the loosely organised armed wing of the pro-democracy National Unity Government, an underground group that opposes the military-installed government.

Many opposition forces including local People’s Defense Force groups operate autonomously from the National Unity Government but the military labels them all as “terrorists.” A resistance group named “For The Yangon” said it carried out the attack on Sai Kyaw Thu, a former lieutenant colonel. — AP