Myanmar rebel leader killed in Thai town

MAE SOT, Thailand, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A leader of Myanmar's biggest rebel group was assassinated at his home in the Thai border town of Mae Sot on Thursday, his wife told Reuters. Pado Mahn Sha Lar Phan, secretary-general of the Karen National Union, was shot at his two-storey wooden home by two men who arrived in a pickup truck, his wife Kim Suay told Reuters at the scene. He died instantly.

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, he had predicted a possible increase in violence ahead of a constitutional referendum in the former Burma in May. (Reporting by Somjit Rungjumratrussamee; Writing by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Ed Cropley)