Retired ambassador killed by PDF group in Yangon
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Phyo/ Thant Zin (NP News)-May 25
According to security forces and close sources, a retired ambassador was shot with a PDF firearm in Mayangone Township, Yangon Region.
The incident occurred at around 9:20 am on May 22, on Wizza Street, Ward (5), Mayangone Township.
“The incident is true. We are still looking for the shooter. We don’t know the identity yet. We are still investigating. We cannot confirm the details yet,” a source close to the security forces told NP News.
The 68-year-old former Brigadier General and retired Ambassador Cho Htun Aung was shot and died while undergoing treatment at the 1,000-bed military hospital.
The Golden Valley Warriors, a terrorist group, have claimed responsibility for carrying out the assassination.
According to a statement released by the Golden Valley Warriors, the retired Major General Cho Htun Aung had been serving as an instructor at the National Defense College (NDC), teaching two subjects: National Security & Counterterrorism and International Relations.
Ambassador U Cho Htun Aung was designated as a military target because he was a retired military officer, the Golden Valley Warriors urban guerrilla group said in a statement.
Retired Ambassador U Cho Htun Aung was among those awarded the Wunna Kyaw Htin award by the State Administration Council (SAC) on November 17, 2022, under the SAC Order No. 211/2022.
The SAC media team has not yet issued any statement regarding the above shooting incident as of 23 May.
A similar incident occurred in April 2023, when U Sai Kyaw Thu, the Deputy Director-General of the Union Election Commission, was shot and killed by two individuals allegedly affiliated with the PDF. The attackers reportedly fired around 12 rounds at him with pistols as he was returning home after taking his wife to the hospital in his vehicle.
Terrorist groups such as NUG, CRPH and PDF, are carrying out acts of violence such as assassinations, threats, and torture of monks, innocent citizens, and civil personnel with the aim of undermining the government's administrative machinery and spreading fear among the public.