Myanmar Central Bank Deputy Governor shot by unidentified gunmen

Representative image (Shutterstock)

A deputy governor at the Central Bank of Myanmar was shot and wounded by two unidentified gunmen in what is believed to be the most high profile attack on a senior official since the military coup more than a year ago.

The attack Thursday came days after the Central Bank tightened rules to reduce the use of U.S. dollars, ordering local holders of foreign currencies to exchange them for kyat within one working day of receiving them.

Than Than Swe, who was appointed after the military took power, was shot by two men when she opened the door to her apartment in Yangon’s Bahan township, the Associated Press reported.

Military spokesman Zaw Min Tun then told Bloomberg News the injury was not serious and she was being treated at the city’s military hospital.

While the identities of the assailants have yet to be confirmed, a militant group called the Yangon Region Military Command loyal to the pro-democracy shadow government in hiding took responsibility for the attack, Associated Press reported citing a Facebook post. Troops have since tightened security of the building where the central bank official is living, local media reported.

The junta overthrew Myanmar’s elected government 14 months ago, inflaming decades-long civil conflict with various ethnic groups. A national resistance movement has called for citizens to boycott banks as well as refuse to pay taxes while urban guerrillas carry out targeted bombings and killings.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), the regime’s security forces have killed more than 1,700 people since the coup with over 10,000 others being held in detention.