The Myanmar military has admitted that its soldiers were responsible for the killing of a civilian amid a clash with Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) in Shan state in late June, which prompted a protest by thousands of local residents demanding justice, RFA reported.

Military spokesmen told RFA on Wednesday that troops were responsible for shooting the civilian in Pan Kin village, Kyaukme township, on June 29, and said the squadron commander would be court-martialled because the shooter — an infantry soldier — had already been killed in battle.

The military engaged in combat with the armed combat with the SSA-S over two days after it accused its soldiers of crossing without advance notice into army-controlled territory when it burned a cache of illegal drugs on June 26.