A group of armed men shot and killed the abbot of Saddhama Pala Yeshin Monastery in Laymine village, Mogaung Township, Kachin State, at about 7pm on October 16, local sources said.
According to the sources, about 10 armed men entered the monastery compound while Abbot U Sila Nanda was talking with some villagers including the village administrator. While two armed men were left at the door of the monastery and eight others entered it. They then made the villagers lie prone and shot the abbot to death.
“The shooting occurred at about 7.15pm. When rescue vehicles arrived, the Sayadaw (abbot) was almost dead. His body was taken back from Mogaung People’s Hospital at about 5am today. He sustained nine bullet wounds to the chest and two to the neck. The body will be cremated on October 23,” said a local villager who helped after the shooting.
Abbot U Sila Nanda (U Thura Zaw named as a layman) was aged 57 and had been ordained for 27 years.
A monk close to the abbot said he was released just last month after being kidnapped by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the local People’s Defence Force (PDF).
A local villager also said: “The KIA and PDF members kidnapped and warned the abbot last month. He was an ethnic Shan. As the village is mostly dwelled by Shan people, he encouraged national cause. He was a former immigration officer. When he gave sermons, they usually included nationalistic and political affairs. But he had always talked so for a long time.”
No one has claimed responsibility for the killing, and a case has been filed at Mogaung Police Station under Section 54 of the anti-terrorism law.
