Pindaya Pagoda Festival Disrupted as Village Administrator Removed and Military Opens Fire, Drags Porter from Market

During the pagoda festival in Pindaya, the administrator was shot dead and the military fired shots into the festival market, dragging away young men

October 12

It is reported that the administrator of Nyaung Kauk village in Pindaya Township, Danu Self-Administered Zone, southern Shan State, was shot dead, and that shots were fired into the festival market and some young men were dragged away and arrested.

At around 8:30 PM on October 10, U Win Maung, also known as a Pyu Saw Htee leader and chairman of the Nyaung Kauk village tract, was shot and killed by an unidentified armed group at his home in Nyaung Kauk village, about 7 miles from Pindaya town.

"He was also with the Union Solidarity and Development Party, he was also a Pyu Saw Htee leader, and he also served as the administrator. At the Pindaya checkpoints, nothing happened without his say-so. Now, during the big festival period, he was suddenly shot inside his home," a local resident said.

After the shootings occurred, gunshots were heard inside the festival grounds where the Shwe U Min Pagoda festival was being held, and the entrances and exits were blocked so that people circulating in the festival grounds could not return home, and some young men were arrested, it is reported.

"It's true that the kids were arrested; those taken were around 20 years old, probably from the village side. When the shots were fired, everyone at the festival market was startled and ran. There was even a chaotic scramble," a local woman said.

It is being said that the arrested young men may have been dragged away, and it is reported that they said it had nothing to do with the administrator's case, and that the number of young men arrested was also large.

The Shwe U Min Pagoda festival in Pindaya town has been held for over a week, it is reported, and from October 2 to October 12, the military junta side arranged the festival market and entertainment events, and also included gambling tables, it is reported.

MyoTaw News Channel