YANGON: Four members of the Myanmar security services, including a brigadier-general, were shot dead by sniper fire on Monday as their helicopter prepared to land, according to a military source.

Brigadier General Aye Min Naung, his personal security officer and two pilots were shot by a “sniper” as their helicopter prepared to land at eastern Thingannyinaung town near Myawaddy on the Thai border, the security source said.

The brigadier later died, while two other servicemen on the helicopter “survived”, the source said, without giving details.

The junta has clashed regularly around Myaw­addy with ethnic minority fighters and allied “People’s Defence Force” groups in recent months.

As Myanmar has been riven by conflict since the 2021 military coup, with multiple armed ethnic groups battling the junta on different fronts, Southeast Asian foreign ministers on Monday backed a regional peace plan and a “Myanmar-owned and -led solution” to the crisis.

In a statement after an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) retreat, the ministers gave support for efforts by the new special envoy on the crisis, from Laos, in “reaching out to parties concerned” and expressed confidence in his resolve to help the Myanmar people.

The new special envoy, Alounkeo Kittikhoun, met the junta chief during a visit to Myanmar earlier this month, according to its state media.

Neither Asean nor Laos has yet made an announcement about that trip and it is unclear if he met any anti-junta groups.

“We reaffirmed Asean’s commitment to assisting Myanmar in finding a peaceful, comprehensive, and durable solution to the ongoing crisis, as Myanmar remains an integral part of Asean,” the minister said.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2024