Two reporters killed in in Kyike Hto
August 26, 2024
HURFOM: At about 9am on August 21st, 2024, the military junta raided the house of freelance reporter Ko Htet Myat Thu near the “Bell Lay” Restaurant in Lat Pya village, Kyike Hto Township, Mon State. The junta used an excessive number of troops during the raid.
Ko Htet Myat Thu, Citizen Journalist of DVB News Agency Ko Win Htut Oo and two members of the Kyikehto Revolutionary Forces (KRF) were killed during the incident. Ko Htet Myat Thu’s grandmother who suffers from a stroke also sustained an injury.
“Htet Myat Thu and KRF members are childhood friends. The junta raided his house when they visited him. It looks like a military informant shared details with the junta. There were about 40 soldiers involved in the raid. They started shooting in the house as soon as they arrived. The entire neighborhood was overwhelmed by the sound of gunfire,” said a Lat Pya resident.
While the junta claims the killings took place during the raid and involved an exchange of gunfire, a source familiar with the incident told HURFOM that Ko Htet Myat Thu and another KRF member were first arrested, then they had tied their hands behind their backs and were shot and killed on the motorway.
The military junta did not return the bodies to family members. Instead, they cremated their remains at the cemetery of Taung Kalay village, Kyike Hto Township, according to a source close to the victims’ family.
Ko Win Htut Oo used to participate in protests after the 2021 attempted coup and the junta issued a warrant for his arrest. Ko Htet Myat Thu was shot and arrested by the junta in March of 2021 while recording news of a protest in Kyike Hto Township. The junta jailed him and he was released on October 19, 2021.
The junta has conducted many arrests in Kyike Hto Township including a member of the Kyike Hto Township Police Force, a female lawyer from Gant Kaw Ward and four civilians.
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