Taxi passenger, vendor killed during attack on Yangon police station

A young man was killed Thursday morning in this bullet-ridden taxi in Kamayut Township. Photo: Nyan Lin Phyo / Facebook
A young man was killed Thursday morning in this bullet-ridden taxi in Kamayut Township. Photo: Nyan Lin Phyo / Facebook

Two innocent bystanders were caught in the crossfire yesterday in Yangon’s Kamayut Township after militants launched attacks on a police station.

Several Kamayut Township cops were reportedly killed in multiple grenade attacks that led to the deaths of two civilians. One of the participating militant groups blamed their deaths on reckless police gunfire.

A representative of the Dark Shadow guerilla force, which claimed responsibility for the attack, told reporters it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and injuries of innocents during their shootout with security forces.

It said it had the help of a KNU Special Commando for the attack and later reported two pedestrians were struck by bullets it says were fired by the police. Who was responsible for the shootings could not be independently verified. The police have no issued a statement on the attack or the deaths.

The attacks took place between 4am and 7:30am. Media reports said several officers were killed.

An eyewitness told Khit Thit Media that one of the victims was a young man in a taxi stopped at a traffic light. Another victim was a middle-aged man selling vegetables near the Pyay Yeik Mon housing estate.

“The police were going to the market in the morning and shooting at the people. They were still shooting at people on the street until around 7 in the morning,” a local resident said.

As of yesterday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) reported that more than 1,700 people have been killed in the protest movement and 13,315 arrested since February last year.

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