"A village militia chief and his wife were shot dead Tuesday evening by unknown gunmen in Myanmar’s war-ravaged northern Shan state, while a government official said recent coordinated attacks by rebel armies in the region have seriously affected crucial trade routes with China. Chinese-speaking and Shan-speaking assailants killed Win Maung, militia chief of Mong Yang village-tract, and his wife when they threw explosives and fired several shots from all directions into his home and a nearby office in the village in Lashio township, locals and a family member who survived the attack said. Win Maung’s two sons and two daughters were away from home on a trip when the attack occurred, but his grandson was in the house and managed to escape. “I heard the blasts sounding like fireworks,” the grandson said. “I tried to hide, but my grandfather told me to leave the house. I asked him to come with me, but he didn’t. I jumped out of the house and ran into the fields.” He said he caught up with other villagers who ran from the village during the attack, and they tried to hide on the other side of the river..."