Bangkok (TIP): A bombing on October 19 near the front gate of Myanmar’s main prison for political detainees killed at least eight people, including visitors and prison personnel, local media and the government said. Five people who were delivering parcels to prisoners and three prison staff were killed when two bombs exploded around 9:40 a.m., News Of Myanmar, an online news service sympathetic to the country’s military government, reported on the Telegram social media platform. The blasts occurred inside and outside of the parcel reception office near the main iron gate of Insein Prison in Yangon, the country’s biggest city.
The military’s information office confirmed in a statement that five visitors, including a 10-year-old girl, and three prison staff were killed, and that an unexploded bomb had also been found in a parcel. It said 13 visitors, including a 9-year-old boy, and five prison personnel were being treated for injuries at Insein township hospital. The prison has been notorious for decades for housing political prisoners under various military governments. Families of prisoners are allowed to bring parcels with items such as food, clothing and medicine. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack. The Yangon Revolution Force, Yangon Urban Guerrillas and General Strike Committee, all resistance groups engaged in struggle against the military government, released statements on their Facebook pages condemning the attacks for hurting civilians.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi last year, triggering nationwide peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with deadly force. The repression led to widespread armed resistance, which has since turned into what some U.N. experts have characterized as civil war.
About 2,367 civilians have died in a crackdown on resistance, according to detailed lists compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights watchdog group. (AP)