Hpakant headmen have been resigning after resistance groups angry at the village and ward leaders for working under the military regime assassinated them in the township in Kachin State.
U Maung Gyi, administrator of Myoma Ward in Hpakant Township, sent his resignation letter to the Office of General Administration Development after unidentified gunmen murdered U Kyaw Swe, the village headman of Lung Khin, on 9 June.
An anonymous source has informed KNG that other leaders were also considering stepping down “because they no longer feel safe in Hpakant”. He pointed out that if leaders in all wards of the township resign, the administrative mechanisation in the region would collapse, leading to “difficulties” for the people.
Besides Myoma, the other wards are Aye Mya Thayar, Nget Pyaw Taw, Mashi Kahtawng and Maw Wan. Some of these leaders were elected under the previous National League for Democracy government. After the coup d’état, many opponents of the regime called on them to resign, but they remained in their positions, although some leaders left their posts.
Another local from Hpakant said they were being killed because they were helping the dictatorship to function. “They are the pillars of the military regime. They help the military junta run their administration and that is the reason why the resistance groups have targeted them.”
The other leaders who have been assassinated in the township since 2021 include U Tang Bawng La Hseng, administrator of Seik Mu village tract, U Tun Myint Aung, administrator of Mashi Kahtawng Ward, and U Myint Aung, administrator of San Kywe village.
Meanwhile, fighting between the regime and the Kachin Independence Army and the People’s Defence Force-Kachin Region, has intensified and up to five civilians are killed every month.
