(Reuters) – A deputy governor at Myanmar’s central bank has been shot in an attack at her home in the Southeast Asian country’s biggest city of Yangon and is being treated at a military hospital, media reports said.
Than Than Swe, who was shot by unidentified attackers on Thursday, is among the most senior officials to be targeted in military-run Myanmar since the army ousted the elected government of Aung Sang Suu Kyi in a coup more than a year ago.
Myanmar military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun confirmed the shooting but said she had not been critically hurt.
“She is now hospitalized at the military hospital. That’s all I can say,” he told BBC Burmese.
Central bank officials did not answer calls seeking comment and the hospital could not be reached for comment.
Reuters could not independently confirm further details of the shooting or who was behind it.
The incident comes after the central bank announced this week that foreign exchange held by locals in Myanmar must be exchanged for the local kyat currency within one working day, sparking panic among some residents.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the military launched a bloody crackdown on opponents, prompting enraged civilians to fight back by forming armed pro-democracy militias and some ethnic minority rebels to also join the fight.
Security forces have killed more than 1,700 people since the coup, according to a tally by the Association for Assistance of Political Prisoners rights group.
The military disputes the group’s death toll and says many soldiers have also been killed.
There have also been regular reports of officials and administrators with links to the military government being targeted and killed across the country.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
