An opposition party member in Taunggyi, Shan State, was found dead outside his village on Thursday morning with a gunshot wound to the head.

Sai San Tun, 50, was the deputy chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD) offices in Mongpyin Lattat, Hopong Township. He was seen being taken from his home around midnight by two men whose identities are still unknown.

“He was found lying face down in the grass just west of the village, with a bullet wound in the back of his head,” said Khun Than Lwin, the Taunggyi Township NLD chairman. “There were three bullet casings next to his body.”

Khun Than Lwin said the party plans to file a case with the police and will demand an investigation. The perpetrators and motivation for the crime are still unknown.

The mysterious assault is one of several attacks on NLD members in Taunggyi district to happen over the past few years. In May 2013, a local militia from the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone — within which Hopong lies — allegedly forced 57 members of the NLD to resign at gunpoint after they assisted villagers in a land dispute.

In that incident, the NLD was demanding the return of farmlands that they say were commandeered by the armed group.The militia denied involvement in both the land-grab and the sudden mass resignation.

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