Three Blasts Kill 11 in Myanmar; Rebels Blamed

Bomb explosions blamed on rebels ripped through two busy supermarkets and a convention center almost simultaneously Saturday in the capital of military-ruled Myanmar, killing 11 people and wounding 162, state television reported.

It did not provide a casualty breakdown for the blasts, which occurred over a 10-minute period. The exhibition center in western Yangon was hit, and then two supermarkets in the northern and northwestern sections of the city.

State television blamed several ethnic rebel groups, including the Karen National Union and the Shan State Army, for the attacks, calling them terrorists who were acting “with the objective of disrupting stability and tranquillity.”

Two of the groups opposed to Myanmar’s military regime denied today that they were responsible for the explosions.

Television footage showed extensive damage at the bombing sites, including smashed storefront windows and blood-splattered floors. An official warned the public to remain alert in case of further unrest.

Three people, including a Buddhist monk, were killed and many were wounded at the convention center, where a Thai trade fair was being held, a security official said on condition of anonymity. Officials in Myanmar often refuse to speak on the record for fear of being penalized by the country’s secretive military regime.

Myanmar, formerly Burma, has been ruled by the military for more than four decades. The current regime took power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy uprising. The junta keeps tight control over the population and anti-government violence is rare, often bringing quick and severe punishment.

The victims in Saturday’s explosions were from Myanmar, but some Thais were hurt when people stampeded to get out of the convention hall after the blast, the official said. Witnesses said that the explosion blew out windows as high as the second floor.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra instructed Thai citizens in Yangon to move to safe areas or go to the Thai Embassy to await a military flight scheduled to arrive today from Bangkok to evacuate them. But a Thai diplomat in Yangon said the plan was only for Thais who had attended the trade fair.

In another blast, several people were wounded at a City Mart supermarket at the Dagon shopping center in northwestern Yangon.

“I heard a loud explosion and saw several sales girls in their gray and light yellow uniforms rushing out of the City Mart with blood streaming down from their faces,” said Hla Hla, a 32-year-old resident who arrived in the area minutes after the blast.

Residents said more than a dozen people were hurt in that explosion, and that the victims were taken to the emergency ward of Yangon General Hospital, the main hospital in the city of 5 million people.

An explosion at another City Mart store in northern Yangon wounded several people and caused similar damage, a witness said. Soldiers moved in to guard the area.

The explosions came less than two weeks after a bombing at a bustling market in the northern city of Mandalay killed two women and wounded 15 people. The junta blamed that attack, the most deadly bombing in recent years, on unidentified rebels.

Last month, state media reported several rebel attacks, including an ambush by ethnic Karen rebels on a convoy of trucks and buses in southern Myanmar that left eight people dead.