The main organization coordinating resistance to Myanmar’s military government says its forces have arrested 10 members of a local resistance group suspected in the killing of a Catholic village priest last week in the country’s northwest
The National Unity Government, Myanmar's leading opposition organization, has accused a local resistance group of killing Father Donald Martin Ye Naing Win, a 44-year-old Catholic priest in Shwebo township, a stronghold of armed resistance in the northwest. The priest was reportedly killed after being accused of being an informer for the military. The National Unity Government's Home Affairs and Immigration Ministry announced that 10 suspects were arrested by the Shwebo branch of the People’s Defense Force and other local groups on the day of the killing. An initial investigation found the suspects were part of a local defense force, with further investigation to be conducted by the Defense Ministry. This marks the first reported case of a Catholic priest being targeted since the military coup four years ago. The broader civil war involves resistance from both the Buddhist majority and ethnic minorities, with some groups having significant Christian populations. Churches and other places of worship have been targeted in the conflict. The People’s Defense Forces, while loosely organized, are expected to adhere to a code of conduct against killing unarmed civilians.
