Burmese Rebels Blow Up Train; 61 Killed, 112 Hurt

Burmese rebels blew up a passenger train on the main line between Rangoon and Mandalay, killing 61 people and wounding 112, the official Burmese News Agency said Thursday.

The news agency said the blast Wednesday night was caused by a land mine planted under the railway tracks and was so powerful that the engine and six coaches were thrown off the tracks.

The explosion occurred about 146 miles north of Rangoon. The train was bound for the central city of Mandalay.

Karen Rebels Suspected

The news agency did not say which rebel group was responsible, but informed sources said the Karen National Union had previously sabotaged transport and communication lines between Rangoon and Mandalay.

The sources said Karen guerrillas could have slipped into the area from their bases near the Thai border to carry out the attack before the opening here next week of the 5th National Congress of the ruling Burma Socialist Program Party.

Burma became a one-party socialist republic in 1974. The former British colony’s politics have been dominated by Gen. Ne Win, who took power in a 1962 coup.

Burma’s armed forces have been fighting a dozen insurgent groups for decades, including Communist guerrillas and ethnic minorities seeking autonomy.

The closest rebel-controlled area to the scene of the attack is that of the Karen. The group, regarded as the strongest of the ethnic rebel organizations, fields about 4,000 guerrillas.

Over the last two years, the Burmese army has stepped up its attacks against the Karen, storming some of their camps and disrupting their main source of revenue--a lucrative smuggling trade between Burma and Thailand.

The guerrilla organization seeks an independent state in eastern Burma. The organization had been fighting the government ever since Burma won independence from Britain in 1948.

The Karens form about 11% of Burma’s population of 34 million.