Yangon. Four members of Myanmar’s security services, including a brigadier general, were shot dead in a sniper attack on Monday as the helicopter was preparing to land, a military source told AFP.
A “sniper” accosted Brigadier General Aye Min Naung, his personal security officer and two pilots as they prepared to land in the eastern town of Thingganninaung near Myawaddy on the Thai border, security sources said.
The source said that the Brigadier General died, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. The source said, without giving details, that two other soldiers aboard the helicopter ‘survived’. The source did not say anything about how many snipers fired at the helicopter or who was responsible for the shooting.
In recent months, regulars have clashed with ethnic minority militants and allied People’s Defense Force groups around the junta’s Myawadi. Local media have published pictures of the aftermath of the incident, in which a small helicopter appears to be in the field. A local outlet said the helicopter was a Eurocopter 365 with two engines.
The Brigadier General is the latest high-ranking officer to be killed on the front lines in various parts of the country fighting opponents of his insurgency. In November, a brigadier general of the Life Infantry Battalion was killed by a drone bomb in Monaco near the Chinese border, a military source said.
Six Brigadier Generals are in custody on charges of surrendering with more than 2,000 soldiers to an alliance of ethnic minority militants in the neighboring Kokang region.
In November, a light fighter plane carrying two pilots crashed in the eastern part of the country, where fighting continues. Forces opposed to the military coup claimed that they shot down the plane. Junta said the accident was due to engine failure.
After the military coup of 2021, Myanmar has been in the grip of conflict. Many armed ethnic groups are fighting the junta on different fronts