A six-year-old girl and a teenage boy were among 16 people arrested and labelled as “terrorists” in connection to the high-profile assassination of a retired military officer and diplomat, a military-run newspaper reported.
Cho Tun Aung, 68, a retired Brigadier General who served as an ambassador to Cambodia, was shot dead on 22 May in the commercial capital of Yangon while out on a walk with his grandchild.
An urban guerrilla group, Golden Valley Warriors, claimed responsibility for the attack.
It was one of the most high-profile attacks in a string of targeted killings that have seen more than five retired military officers, including majors and generals, assassinated since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup and overthrew the elected government led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
“A total of 16 offenders – 13 males and three females – were arrested,” the junta-controlled news outlet Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
Those arrested included one of the alleged assassins, four suspected lookouts, two doctors who provided treatment to a person injured during the assassination, and several associates and family members, it said.
A picture of those arrested released by the newspaper showed the mugshot of the six-year-old girl and a teenage boy.
It said they were the members of the Godel Valley Warriors group.
The group at that time said they killed the retired general because of his continued support for military operations, including attacks on civilians.
The junta claimed that the group is run by the National Unity Government, a shadow government which was formed after the coup by the members of the ousted Suu Kyi administration. The report said the NUG paid 200,000 Myanmar Kyat ($95.52) for a killing.
However, NUG spokesperson Nay Phone Latt denied the allegations. “It is not true that we are paying people to kill other people,” he said.
Myanmar remains embroiled in a civil war since the 2021 coup and the military, which has directly or indirectly ruled Myanmar most of the time since independence, has launched a crackdown on protesters as well as resistance militia groups.
Pro-democracy fighters allied with ethnic minority groups seeking greater autonomy have launched a fight with the junta and analysts believe they control a much greater share of territory.
Since the coup, Myanmar’s junta has arrested over 29,000 people, including more than 6,000 women and 600 children, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners, an activist group.
Myanmar’s junta has said it does not target civilians and its operations are in response to attacks by “terrorists” for maintaining peace and stability in the country.
