Suu Kyi’s house bombed, police seek man with ‘black skin’ and ‘fat body’

Yangon police are searching for a middle-aged male suspect who is believed to have thrown a crude petrol bomb at the home of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi this morning. Suu Kyi was not at home at the time of the bombing, and there was little damage to her property.

At around 6:30am, a 62-year-old member of the house staff heard an explosion and went to investigate. He found a small fire burning, which he doused with water, but he still smelled kerosene. When he searched the compound, he found the remains of a bottle that had apparently been thrown into the compound from the street.

According to an announcement on Facebook, the police are searching for a man who was seen by a passenger in a passing car fleeing the scene. He is described as being around 40 years old, five feet and five inches tall, and having “black skin” and a “fat body.”

The Facebook post includes images of a man wearing a pink t-shirt and a light blue longyi. In one image, he appears to be running along University Avenue Road, where Suu Kyi’s home is located. In another image, he is standing beside two other people near the South Korean embassy.

The post also includes images of an exploded glass bottle, which reportedly contained traces of gasoline, and a burnt plastic pipe.

The Facebook post does not mention that the home belongs to Aung San Suu Kyi, who was in Naypyidaw at the time of the attack.

Before her National League for democracy took control of the civilian organs of Myanmar’s government in 2016, her opposition to military rule led to her being confined for nearly 15 years to her lakeside compound between 1989 and 2010. World leaders and human rights advocates frequently petitioned Myanmar’s generals for her release.

In 2003, while touring the country as an opposition leader, a military-sponsored mob attacked Suu Kyi’s convoy in Dapayin, Sagaing Region, killing at least 70 of her supporters. She Narrowly escaped with her life.

Since coming to power through a military-orchestrated political transition, she has refrained from criticizing the still-independent military. Her cooperation with the military, especially in its killings of thousands of Rohingya and its mass displacement of nearly 700,000, has triggered an about-face from her erstwhile supporters.