Top Burmese Rebel Leader Killed

A Burmese rebel leader who was an outspoken critic of the country’s military government has been shot and killed at his home near the Thai-Burmese border.

A reporter for VOA Burmese Service says Karen National Union secretary-general Pado Mahn Sha Lap Han was killed Thursday in the Thai town of Mae Sot.

Two unidentified men carried out the apparent assassination. No one has claimed responsibility.

Pado Mahn Sha Lap Han was also a top leader of the National Council of the Union of Burma, a Thai-based group which opposes military rule in Burma.

The Karen National Union has been fighting for autonomy in eastern Burma for decades. It is the only major ethnic rebel group to not sign a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government.

The predominantly Christian KNU frequently clashes with its splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which has links to the Burmese military.

The DKBA reached a peace agreement with Burma’s military-led government in the mid-1990s.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

by VOA News

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