Members of the “Rehmonya” armed group are prime suspects in the January 12th 2010 shooting of a villager named Nai Oung from Kaw-dood village, Lamine Sub-Township.

The victim was reportedly drinking buddies with several members of the Rehmonya and Nai Aung Naing armed splinter groups; soldiers from the two parties had been taking up residence in Kaw-dood village since early January.

A fellow Kaw-dood residents and a neighbor of the deceased told IMNA, “A villager named Nai Oung was drinking with soldiers from the Nai Aung Naing’ group and the  Nai Shoung group outside of  the village…they shot Nai Oung when he was drinking with them.”

According to this source, when Nai Oung failed to return home on the 12th, his son scoured the area and located his father’s body on the outskirts of the village. Nai Oung had reportedly been shot through the eye. Suspicions concerning the Rehmonya group’s culpability were raised after it was revealed that one of Nai Oung’s drinking buddies from the Rehmonya faction had hastily departed from the village on the same day as the tragedy.

IMNA’s field reporters learned that Nai Aung Naing and Nai Shoung traveled to the region in early January 2010, when the 2 groups took responsibility for security at a funeral festival in nearby Taung pyin village between January 3rd and January 6th.

Both the Nai Aung Naing and the Rehmonya group (sometimes referred to as the “Nai Shaung” group) are Mon splinter groups that have aligned themselves with the Burmese government by becoming Border Guard Forces (BGF). Nai Aung Naing sided with the Burmese military government in 2008, after he and his followers split from the New Mon State Party (NMSP). Nai Shoung, also a former NMSP member, founded the “Rehmonnya armed group” in June 2009, and his acceptance of the BGF agreement with the Burmese government was announced in October. Kaowao Newsgroup reported on December 30th, 2009 that the two groups had merged earlier that month in order to increase recruitment.

IMNA interviewed Kaw-dood villagers for this story; all 3 reported that the case has been kept quiet, as family members feel that pursuing the case would result in backlash from both the Rehmonya group and the Burmese government.

A villager informed IMNA “they [his family] will have to spend a lot of money if they open his case. And the village headman also doesn’t dare to talk about it. But the villagers believe the shooter is from Nai Shoung’s group”.

A retired NMSP member told IMNA that if Nai Oung’s family attempts to bring their case to trial, the Burmese government will likely not pursue it, and instead will use the situation to foster discord between Mon armed groups and Mon civilians.

“The Burmese government always makes conflict between armed groups and the people. They are happy if armed groups and the people get into a conflict,” he added.