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Title : Five killed in shooting near Myanmar democracy icon Suu Kyi's house
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Date : 04 March 2008 1711 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/332811/1/.html

YANGON: Five people were killed in execution-style shootings in the wealthy Yangon neighbourhood where Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest, police said Tuesday.

A couple, their two daughters and a maid were shot inside their home on Monday afternoon, police told AFP.

"About 1,000 lakhs (1,000 US dollars) was taken from their home," a police official said on condition of anonymity.

Family friends said all five had been shot in the head.

The shooting happened near the State Guesthouse, a military facility that has been the venue for recent talks between Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and a liaison officer for the military government.

The guesthouse is also where the democracy leader has been allowed to meet with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on his previous visits to Myanmar. He is set to return on Thursday.

Aung San Suu Kyi lives just a few blocks away from the house where the shooting take place, making the killing all the more unusual because the area is under constant guard.

Although Myanmar has been at civil war for about six decades, shootings in Yangon are extremely rare.

Ordinary citizens are not allowed to own weapons, and firearms are strictly controlled by the regime. - AFP/ac



Shooting in Yangon near Suu Kyi's home


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