An alleged leader of the brutal Thway Thout junta-aligned armed group, Chit Ko Ko, survived a second assassination attempt when he was shot at in Mandalay at around 9:00 a.m. on 19 October.

A local resident said: “He [Chit Ko Ko] didn’t die when he was shot at the first time. This morning he posted on social media that he had been shot at but hadn’t been harmed and that only the front end of his car was hit.”

The resident continued: “He was shot [this time] on 19 October at around 9:00 am, while he was alone in a vehicle travelling on the Aung Pin Lal Township Ring Road in Aung Myay Thar San Township between 19th and 26th streets. Only the east side of the vehicle he was riding in sustained damage.”

It was alleged that Pathein Gyi PDF was responsible for the shooting, but the group has denied the allegations.

This assassination attempt on Chit Koko followed an earlier one last month when he was also shot at. On that occasion he made a Facebook post saying he was not dead and threatened members of the public.

As well as being a Thway Thout leader Chit Koko is also prominent in the radical Buddhist Mabatha organisation.

The Thway Thout group has targetted and killed NLD supporters and left ‘calling cards’ with the bodies. They operate mainly in Mandalay but have also carried out killings in other cities.

Mabatha is a fiercely nationalistic Buddhist organisation started by the monk Wirathu. They are strong supporters of the military junta.