Security forces in Myanmar have detained a six-year-old girl, Lin Latt Shwe, along with 15 other individuals suspected of involvement in the assassination of retired Brigadier General Cho Tun Aung. The 16 suspects, comprising 13 males and three females, were arrested in four different regions of the country.
According to state-run media, Lin Latt Shwe is the daughter of alleged assassin Myo Ko Ko, who reportedly has at least three other aliases. The child and her parents were arrested in the central city of Bagan.
The Golden Valley Warriors, a little-known armed group, claimed responsibility for the killing of Cho Tun Aung, 68, who was shot outside his home in Yangon on May 22. In a statement posted on Facebook, the group stated that Cho Tun Aung had been teaching internal security and counterterrorism at Myanmar’s National Defence College and was complicit in atrocities committed by the military in the ongoing civil war.
However, independent news outlet The Irrawaddy reported that the Golden Valley Warriors have denied the 16 detainees were part of their operation.
Other detainees include the owner of a private hospital alleged to have provided treatment to the assassin, who suffered a gunshot wound during the attack. This assassination is the latest attack against figures linked to the ruling military, which launched a takeover of the country in 2021 after deposing the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Since the coup, targeted assassinations have been carried out against high-ranking active and retired military officers, senior civil servants, and suspected informers.
In a related development, tensions have flared in Los Angeles as federal immigration authorities conducted raids across the city, detaining dozens of people. The operation is part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, sparking protests and clashes between demonstrators and police.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the raids, stating they “sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city”. Caleb Soto of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network echoed her sentiments, saying the raids were designed to “create as much fear as possible”.
The Los Angeles raids are part of a broader immigration enforcement effort, with Trump pledging to arrest and deport undocumented migrants in record numbers. The administration has also announced plans to revoke the temporary legal status of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans in the country.
ICE agents conducting the raids did not obtain judicial warrants, instead using “reasonable suspicion” to arrest individuals, which Soto described as “pretty unconstitutional”.
Meanwhile, a public feud between Trump and Elon Musk has intensified, with Musk criticizing a Trump-backed spending bill and Trump retaliating by questioning Musk’s government contracts. The dispute has exposed divisions within the Republican party over immigration, government spending, and tech industry policies.