Soldier commits suicide after a captain was shot dead in Matupi Township

September 1st, 2021

A captain was shot dead by a soldier at Light Infantry Battalion-140 in Matupi Township in southern Chin State, at around 6 pm on August 29th.

The captain was shot to death while he was reading a propaganda persuading soldiers not to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The soldier himself committed suicide.

A local from Matupi said: “I think there are at least five soldiers who are going to join the CDM. There was a dispute as the majors told soldiers that they did not need to join the CDM as the election would be held, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be freed. A soldier himself committed suicide after shooting the captain with M1 rifle.”

Both were killed in the incident. The situation is unknown as the LIB-140 is a bit far from the town, and civilians are not allowed to enter the unit. Many military troops are active at the junction of downtown Matupi.

On August 29th, the military council distributed the cablegram to all military units in a bid to propagate and control CDM soldiers.

The propaganda covers “The election would be held after the release of leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. It needs to maintain the unity in the military unit. Soldiers don’t need to join the CDM. The situation would return to normalcy.”

There are LIB-140, LIB-304 and a military strategy unit in Matupi. There are disagreements in the military, according to Matupi locals.

So far, the number of servicemen who have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) across the country has exceeded 1,500.