Another time, Another Bomb in Myanmar Again!

Explosion on Myanmar bus kills conductor: official

From AP

YANGON, Myanmar: A bus conductor in Myanmar was killed Wednesday by an explosion in his vehicle, a government official said. It followed three bombings in public places since late last week.

The official said the explosion occurred when the bus was in Pyinbonegyi, 105 kilometers (65 miles) north of Yangon, the country's biggest city. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the media.

He said the blast took place when the bus was stopped to allow passengers to eat at a roadside shop, and the conductor remained on board. The bus was traveling to Yangon from Kyaukyi, a town about 168 kilometers (105 miles) to the north.

Three bombings in different parts of Myanmar since Friday have killed two people and wounded five. No one has claimed responsibility.

The ruling junta blamed the recent bombings on an unspecified foreign organization and called on the public to report any sightings of terrorists, a state-run newspaper said Monday.

"Information has been received that a foreign organization has sent terrorist saboteurs with explosives across the border to perpetrate destructive acts inside the country," the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said.

State media linked at least one of the bombings to ethnic Karen rebels, and the bus that was hit by an explosion Wednesday originated in an ethnic Karen area.

The junta routinely blames acts of violence on foreigners, including street rallies last year led by Buddhist monks that the government suppressed with a violent crackdown. After troops fired on peaceful protesters in September, the junta accused Western powers and the foreign media of fomenting the protests.

The first of the recent explosions occurred Friday morning at the railway station serving the country's new administrative capital of Naypyitaw, killing a 40-year-old ethnic Karen woman whom the government later said was the bomber.

The second blast occurred Friday night at a circus in the northern town of Pyu, injuring four civilians and killing a man said to be a Karen rebel who allegedly planted the explosive.

The third blast on Sunday near a public toilet at the ticketing office of Yangon's main railway station injured a 73-year-old woman.

The Karen National Union has been fighting for half a century for greater autonomy from Myanmar's military government. It is the only major ethnic rebel group that has not agreed to a cease-fire with the junta. But they and other government opponents deny carrying out attacks targeting civilians.

Terrorism is rare but not unknown in Myanmar, which has been under military rule almost continuously since 1962.

The deadliest such attack in recent years took place on May 7, 2005, when three bombs went off almost simultaneously at two upscale supermarkets and a convention center in Yangon, killing about two dozen people and injuring more than 160 others. The perpetrators remain unknown.