Four members of Myanmar’s security services, including a brigadier general, were shot dead by snipers on Monday as their helicopter prepared to land, a military source told AFP.
Security sources said Brigadier Eminau, his personal security detail and two pilots were shot dead by a “sniper” as the helicopter prepared to land in the eastern town of Thingannyinaung near the Thai border with Myawaddy.
The brigadier later died, said the source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
They added that two other service members on board the helicopter “survived” but gave no details.
The source did not say how many snipers fired at the helicopter or who was responsible for the shooting.
The junta has frequently clashed with ethnic minority militants and YDF-allied groups around Myawaddy in recent months.
Local media released images purporting to show the aftermath of the incident, showing a small helicopter lying on its side in a field.
A local media outlet said the helicopter was a twin-engine Eurocopter 365.
The brigadier general was the latest senior officer to be killed on the front lines as the junta battles opponents of the coup across the country.
A military source told AFP that the brigadier general of a light infantry battalion was killed by a bomb dropped by a drone during clashes in Monek near the Chinese border in November.
Six brigadiers are currently detained for leading more than 2,000 soldiers to surrender to an alliance of ethnic minority militants in the neighboring Kokang region.
In November, a light fighter jet carrying two pilots crashed in a region of the country where fighting was ongoing, and anti-coup forces claimed they shot it down.
The military government said engine failure caused the accident.
Myanmar has been mired in conflict since a 2021 military coup, with multiple ethnic armed groups fighting the military junta on different fronts.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
