This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
A shootout in central Myanmar between junta forces and locals killed four men, residents said on Wednesday.
Junta security in Sagaing region’s Shwebo township entered Nya Hmwe Pan, a karaoke bar and restaurant, in Thuzar neighborhood on Monday night. As soldiers began to inspect the bar’s premises, a gunfight broke out, locals told Radio Free Asia.
Junta authorities have since arrested around 20 people, including employees from the restaurant and other customers. The four victims were all men in their 20s, according to eyewitnesses. RFA has been unable to confirm the names of the victims or why some customers were carrying weapons.
“The junta council’s security forces came to check. Those who were singing karaoke fired back so they couldn’t be inspected when forces came to check [that area],” one local said, declining to be named for fear of reprisals.
“Four young people from the group singing karaoke died on the spot during the exchange of fire.”
Calls by RFA to Sagaing region’s junta spokesperson Sai Naing Naing Kyaw to learn more about the incident went unanswered on Wednesday.
The bodies of the four men were taken to the Shwebo Hospital in ambulances an hour after the shooting, locals said, adding that junta troops took away the bodies in the process.
They said since the shooting, almost all the restaurants and karaoke bars in Shwebo city have stopped accepting guests after 7 p.m.
As of November 28, over 4,200 people across the country have been killed since the military seized power nearly three years ago, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
