Gunmen shoot deputy governor of Myanmar Central Bank

Gunmen in Myanmar's largest city have shot a deputy governor of the central bank, less than a week after tough currency controls were ordered in the military-ruled nation

BANGKOK -- A deputy governor of Myanmar’s Central Bank was shot Thursday at her home, less than a week after tough new regulations were issued ordering that foreign money held in bank accounts in the military-ruled nation must be exchanged for the local currency.

There were conflicting accounts of whether Than Than Swe, appointed to her post after the military seized power, survived the attack.

She is believed to be the most senior official associated with the military-run administration to be shot since Feb. 1 last year, when the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The takeover triggered widespread peaceful protests that were quashed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that some U.N. experts now characterize as civil war.

Than Than Swe was shot by two men when she opened the door to her apartment in Bahan township in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, said Thet Oo, a local official. He said she was taken to a military hospital where she was confirmed dead, but a report by the U.S. government-backed Radio Free Asia cited a military spokesman saying she was being treated for her wounds.