UPDATED at 4:25 P.M. EDT on 2022-05-31
An explosion on a busy street in downtown Yangon killed one person and injured nine others on Tuesday, AFP news agency quoted police sources as saying.
"The blast occurred around 3:20 p.m. local time (4:50 a.m. EDT) near a bus stop," the police source told the news agency, requesting anonymity. "One man died in hospital and nine others are injured."
Early, a local charity worker at the scene told RFA Burmese that the blast, believed to be a bombing, happened at a bus stop near Bar Street and Anawrahta Road in Kyauktada Township, s
“It was a mess. I just brought an injured patient and came out. But I did not know the exact (number) of victims and about 10 people have been brought (for medical treatment),” aid the worker, speaking to RFA Burmese on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. He said two of injured were in a serious condition. All the injured were men.
Other local aid groups also assisted the injured.
Since the military seized power from an elected civilian government 16 months ago, violence has spiraled ,including bombings in urban centers. Yangon is the commercial center of Myanmar and the largest city in the country of 54 million people.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for an attack, but the junta that has ruled since a Feb. 1, 2021 coup blamed opponents of military rule.
“Regarding the explosions, we already know who is behind them, whether in busy areas in Yangon or Mandalay," said a spokesman for the junta, who pointed the finger at the National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel administration made up of deposed lawmakers and officials.
"As they were losing ground in cities like Yangon, the terrorists are using more of these explosions," said the spokesman. He did not provide evidence.
NUG spokesman Dr. Sasa, who serves as the shadow minister for international cooperation, said in statement that he learned from reports that one of seven injured in the blast was a foreigner.
"The brutal genocidal military has been carrying out senseless bombings and killings against its own civilian population across Myanmar. This is totally unacceptable.," he said in a statement.
"The genocidal military in Myanmar has created chaos and inflicted violence against its own people for far too long," added Sasa.
Also Tuesday, a bomb blast at around 2 p.m. (3:30 p.m. EDT) near a state education office in Naung Cho Township, northern Shan State, killed at least one person and wounded seven. Locals said that the fatality was a teacher from Macchi Nu village in that township and the injured were education staff and teachers.
The Institute for Strategy and Policy said in a report this month that it had documented at least 5,646 civilian deaths between the Feb. 1, 2021 coup and May 10.
The figure, about triple the previous reported death toll, included people killed by security forces during anti-junta protests, in clashes between the military and pro-democracy paramilitaries or ethnic armies, while held in detention, and in revenge attacks, including against informers for the regime.