Two women, one of whom is believed to have been an informant for the military regime, were killed by armed members of the Black Dragon Force (BDF) in Pyapon in the Irrawaddy Region.

A BDF officer told NMG that Hnin Wai Khine was a government clerk from the Ward 15 Administration Office in the town who allegedly provided information to the military about resistance forces that led to arrests.

Before the killings, the armed group had warned Noe Noe Wai not to accompany her friend Hnin Wai Khine, he said, but she apparently didn’t listen and was therefore also targeted during the operation on Tuesday 23 August. The officer explained that they’d received many complaints about Hnin Wai Khine before deciding to kill her.

“Noe Noe Wai wasn’t an informant but a friend of Hnin Wai Khine and she was killed because she was with Hnin Wai Khine during the mission,” said another source from Pyapon who knows about the situation and requested anonymity.

The two women were allegedly together when Hnin Wai Khine spied on the activities of a local chapter of the People’s Defence Force, which is fighting the military regime.

On the same day they were murdered, the BDF warned Myo Hsan Oo, the head administer for Ward 15, and his younger brother Aung Aung to stop working as informants for the regime.