The General Police Department reported that two soldiers who fled the scene with firearms after killing their commander were found and arrested at 10:20 a.m. on April 11 in Badral bag, Altai soum, Gobi-Altai Province.
The two soldiers escaped after they shot and killed their commander in a border outpost in Altai soum of Govi-altai Province on April 8. The 19-year-old soldiers fled with two automatic firearms and more than 45 bullets, according to earlier reports. The search was jointly organized by the police and the border guards for four days.
One of the two soldiers is from Chandmani soum of Khovd Province, and the other is from Bayan-Undur soum of Orkhon Province. On the night of the incident, the two soldiers went to the home of a resident in Altai soum, about 15 km from the border, and asked for food and a motorcycle. About 50 kilometers away from the border outpost, they left the motorcycle and continued on foot to the mountains.
Many people suspect that they killed their commander because of pressure. But other soldiers at the border post stated that there was no pressure from the deceased commander. They reported that he was friendly with the soldiers and intelligent.
Psychologists work in all units of the border guard. A one-on-one meeting with the officers revealed that the soldiers did not show any signs of physical abuse.
About the deceased, Deputy Head of the General Administration of Border Protection Sh.Lkhachinjav said, “I would like to emphasize that he was one of our best guards. He lives at the border with his wife and three children. The family has a legal environment to be provided a one-time grant of 50 million to 60 million MNT. In the future, we will take care of his children.”
In February this year, a soldier who served in the same post committed suicide. Investigators at the time determined that the incident was due to a family dispute.
The public has been critical of the rise in crimes in the military and called for the defense sector to have better oversight, human rights to be respected and operations to become more transparent.
