YANGON (AFP) – A Myanmar ethnic minority armed group has executed three of its personnel following a public trial held in a town captured from the military in January, media affiliated to the group has reported.
Myanmar’s borderlands are home to an array of ethnic minority armed groups, some of which have been battling the military for decades for autonomy and control of resources like jade or opium.
On Wednesday, 10 “military personnel” went on public trial for offences including murder, extortion and kidnap in the northeastern city of Laukkai, according to media affiliated with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
The MNDAA is a group that holds territory in northern Shan state, close to China’s Yunnan province.
A video released by The Kokang media outlet late on Wednesday showed the men shackled and wearing identical tracksuits with placards around their necks detailing their names and crimes.
A crowd of onlookers were shown gathered in front of the stage where a man in military uniform read out the sentencing.
Three of the men were sentenced to death for murder and for selling weapons and ammunition stolen from the MNDAA, The Kokang said.The others received jail sentences.
