After a shooting in Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State, junta troops, police, and militia members have heightened security and are carrying out a large-scale cordon and search operation across the city, residents told Than Lwin Times.

On November 9, around 11:00 pm, three men from the LGBT community were shot in front of Myin Thu Lan Beauty Salon in Myaynigone Ward, Mawlamyine City.

Two LGBT individuals, Tin Ko Ko Oo (aka Ma Ni) and Mahmad Aryon, were killed instantly at the scene, while their friend Zwe Wai Yan Htet was seriously injured.

The three had visited a nighttime bazaar and were returning to their beauty salon when two unidentified gunmen on a motorbike pursued and shot them.

In the days following the shooting, the junta tightened security across the city, cordoning off entrances and exits, and conducting surprise inspections throughout Mawlamyine.

Mawlamyine has seen significantly fewer crowds following the junta’s tightened security, a resident reported.

“The junta usually steps up security and checkpoints in Mawlamyine whenever there’s trouble. Right now, they’re focusing on town entrances and bridges,” he said.

Right now, the junta is not only tightening security but also carrying out nighttime house searches and questioning people they consider suspicious.

Sources close to the regime said the junta is also reviewing security camera footage of the shootout.

Shootings have occasionally occurred in Mawlamyine City, which is under full junta control, and locals are criticizing the authorities’ failure to apprehend the perpetrators.

In Mawlamyine, the junta has installed security cameras throughout the city and conducts daily patrols, yet burglaries, robberies, and murders continue to occur.