A bomb exploded this morning at Yangon’s Kyauktada Township Police Station, where a vice general police officer is stationed, amid mounting casualties as violence escalates.
As of early Tuesday afternoon it was unknown if anyone was hurt in the attack claimed by a group called the Yangon Anti-Dictatorship Force, which was formed late last month to perform urban guerrilla attacks more effectively in Yangon.
According to a statement from the group, the bombing was carried out in collaboration with another insurgent group with the goal of driving the military dictatorship from power.
“After the incident, we were able to retreat safely,” the group announced on Facebook.
“We shall oppose the dictator and his watchdogs more effectively in the future.”
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A woman who lives near the police station told reporters that police were investigating, and it was not yet known if there were casualties.
“After the rain had stopped at 7:30am, it struck like lightning. It’s huge. My heart felt a little shaky because of the explosion,” she told Myanmar Now.
Following the bombing, soldiers increased security near the police station and began screening pedestrians. Some witnesses reported three young men arrested and interrogated.
Since June, a series of bomb attacks have hit Yangon and other places around Myanmar, in response to the brutal and deadly military crackdown on peaceful protests.
Yesterday saw bomb blasts and gunfire in Yangon’s central townships, including Kamaryut, Hlaing, and North Okkalapa. A number of soldiers were reportedly injured and one anti-coup fighter killed.
Rights observers with the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said Monday that at least 1,136 people have been killed or tortured as a result of the military crackdown since the Feb. 1 coup, despite the junta’s repeated denials.
