UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has denounced the killing of reporter Sai Win Aung, also known as A Sai K, in Lay Kay Kaw Myothit, Myanmar, near the border with Thailand on 25 December 2021, and called upon the authorities to conduct a full investigation.
I condemn the killing of Sai Win Aung. Media workers like Sai Win Aung risk their lives to keep the public informed. Their work deserves to be recognized and their safety protected in line with international humanitarian law, which forbids attacks on civilians.
Sai Win Aung was covering the plight of refugees in the southeastern state of Kayin for the Federal News Journal when he was fatally shot in an artillery attack by the Myanmar armed forces, according to reports. Aung was the second journalist killed in Myanmar in December 2021.
UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness-raising, capacity building and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
See also: UNESCO observatory of killed journalists
Media contact: Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi, g.godoi@unesco.org