The vice-governor of the junta-controlled Central Bank of Myanmar, Daw Than Than Swe, was shot at her house in Yangon’s Bahan Township on Thursday, becoming the highest-ranking regime official so far to be attacked. Conflicting reports have emerged over whether she survived the attack. A member of an anti-regime guerrilla group in Yangon claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Swe was shot five times on her doorstep shortly before noon. But he refused to offer more details for security reasons, reports ‘The Irrawaddy’. Pro-junta accounts on Facebook said the 55-year-old died around 11:45 am, right after being admitted to a hospital with gunshot wounds. However, junta spokesperson Major General Zaw Min Tun, while confirming the shooting, told the media that the vice-governor was admitted to a military hospital with “minor” injuries. Swe was appointed as one of two vice-governors of the central bank on February 4 last year, three days after the military seized power. The shooting comes a few days after the central bank issued a controversial order requiring that all foreign exchange earned by locals be converted into local currency at the official rate within one working day.
