2 Myanmar Men Arrested In US For Plotting To Kill UN Envoy

The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said that Phyo Hein Htut and Ye Hein Zaw had each been charged with one count of conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon a foreign official,

Two Myanmar citizens have been arrested in New York state for plotting with an arms dealer in Thailand - who sells weapons to the Burmese military - to kill or injure Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations, US authorities said on Friday. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who represents Myanmar's elected civilian government which was overthrown by the military in February, told Reuters on Wednesday that a threat had been made against him and U.S. authorities had stepped up his security. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said on Friday that Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, had each been charged with one count of conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon a foreign official, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The ambassador did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges. Myanmar's junta fired him in February, but for now he remains the country's UN envoy because the United Nations has not acknowledged the junta.