Mizzima

A Myanmar military company commander was killed by one of his own soldiers who fired his gun at him to prove it was not loaded.

Aung Myo Thu was the Company Commander of the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 6 stationed in Tein Myoke Village, in Bago Region’s Okpho Township.

On 11 August he asked a soldier if his gun was clear of bullets. The soldier asserted that there were no bullets in his gun and, somewhat overconfidently, fired directly into his commanding officer’s face to prove his point.

A source in the military said: “The soldier said that he was asked to clear his gun but he was unaware that there was still a loaded bullet [in the gun]. When his superior asked him if he had cleared his bullets he turned to his superior and fired at him to prove he had cleared his gun. The bullet hit his [commander’s] neck killing him.”

Aung Myo Thu died on the way to the hospital and the soldier who shot him was arrested. As for his fate, the military source said: “I heard that he will be executed in custody.”

An officer from an Okpho Township anti-junta guerrilla force says he does not believe the shooter's explanation. He thought it far more likely that he had a grudge against his commander. 

Mizzima has, so far, not been able to independently verify the claims made by the military source.