A civilian disobedience movement (CDM) schoolteacher, Ko Thet Oo, was killed by an artillery shell fired by the Myanmar military while he was temporarily returning to his home in Kyondoe, Karen State, according to friends of the deceased.
Ko Thet Oo, who had fled Kyondoe due to ongoing clashes, returned briefly to his home in Kyun Kalay village on the afternoon of May 19. During his visit, an artillery shell fired by Light Infantry Battalion 545, based in Kyondoe, exploded in the village, striking and killing him instantly.
“On the afternoon of May 19, LIB 545 fired heavy artillery towards Kyun Kalay village. One of the shells hit a house in the village and killed Ko Thet Oo, a CDM schoolteacher in his thirties. He had resigned from his teaching position and joined the CDM. He returned home to look after the house, as homes in the village had been looted. The shell landed right in front of the shrine at his house, and he died on the spot,” a friend of the victim explained.
