Member of Mon ceasefire group attacked

by Phoe Zaw
Wednesday, 13 May 2009 21:09

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - A member of an ethnic Mon party, the New Mon State Party (NMSP), was on Friday attacked by gunmen who fired at least six shots, according to party officials.

Naing Yazar was traveling with friends on three motorbikes along the Moulmine-Ye highway in southern Burma’s Mon state, on May 6th, when they were shot at by a group of armed men riding in a car.

“They [the gunmen] seem to have had fair knowledge about the travel of Naing Yazar and his friends because they came with a car and shot at them,” speculated an official from the NMSP, which also maintains an armed wing.

The official, who wished not to be named, said the gunshots missed Naing Yazar and his friends, though the gunmen escaped.

In a similar attack, Dr. Nai Min Naung, also a member of the NMSP, was shot dead on April 18th. Sources said three gunmen from a rebel faction led by Nai Aung Chan, have been arrested for his murder.

The New Mon State Party's armed wing is one of among 17 ethnic armed groups that has inked a ceasefire agreement with the junta.

Members of the group, which has offices in Moulmine, capital of Mon state, are free to travel in Burma.