Anti-junta groups attack regime targets with bombings, shootings 

Myanmar saw a series of bomb blasts and other attacks on regime forces over the weekend and on Monday, as anti-junta groups commemorated the 33rd anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising with nationwide protests.

There were at least four incidents in Yangon Region, including reports of gunfire near the compound of the junta-controlled Myanmar Radio and Television studios on Saturday night.

Residents who live near the compound in Sanchaung said they heard  “continuous” shooting at around 9pm. The Khit Thit news outlet released a video of the incident in which loud bangs could be heard for several seconds. 

A document believed to be a police report that circulated on social media an hour after the incident said a group of gunmen in a Toyata Mark II vehicle exchanged gunfire with security forces at the compound.

The report said a 32-year-old civilian who was driving his car at the time of the incident was injured, though not not severely. The junta has not commented publicly on the incident.

Earlier that day, there were unconfirmed reports that a navy lieutenant was shot dead in Ohn Bin village in Kayan Township, Yangon Region. Citing witnesses, villagers told Myanmar Now the lieutenant was shot three times at close range and died instantly.

An Ohn Bin villager said regime forces sealed off the area and carried out inspections after the incident. Locals did not know the lieutenant’s name and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Since May, scores of junta officials and military allies have been killed in attacks by anti-coup guerrilla groups following fatal crackdowns on peaceful protesters by the coup regime.

On Sunday, there were at least two bomb blasts in Yangon targeting regime troops. 

One bomb went off on a parked motorbike in South Dagon, which is under martial law, killing one soldier and injuring another, a local told Myanmar Now.

“A man came to the area and parked the motorcycle with a vinyl bearing the words ‘fascist army.’ Two soldiers came to remove the vinyl and the bomb went off,” the local said, citing eyewitnesses.

Myanmar Now was unable to verify the information independently.

Later in the afternoon, another bomb went off near a market in Pazundaung Township and injured a police officer, eyewitnesses said.

“My car trembled when the bomb went off. There was smoke too. I saw someone dragging out a policeman who was covered with a lot of blood,” one witness told Myanmar Now. The police officer’s condition is unknown.

On Saturday afternoon, a junta-appointed ward administrator in Mandalay Region’s Kyaukse Township was shot by a group of gunmen, locals said.

Htin Kyaw Aung, who is in his 40s, was shot in the head and brought to a hospital after the attack, an eyewitness told Myanmar Now. It is unclear if he died. 

He was accused by locals of being a military ally and informing on anti-coup protesters. His family members could not be reached for comment on his condition or the accusations against him.

On Monday, there was an explosion near the No. 1 police station in Mandalay, according to a source who runs a shop in the area. He added that he heard gunfire after the explosion. No deaths or injuries were reported after the attack.

“It was around 11.30am. There was this sound of an explosion and seconds later, we heard five or six rounds of gunfire,” the man said. “It is unclear if they opened fire because they saw someone throw a bomb, or if someone placed the bomb and shot at it to make it explode.”

Earlier that day, a policeman and a soldier were reportedly killed in a bombing in the Sagaing Region town of Kawlin. The bomb exploded at a bus station at around 9am, according to multiple Kawlin residents, who added that regime troops later came to retrieve the bodies.

Soldiers fired guns in public after the explosion. “They were shooting randomly here and there in fear. It lasted about two hours,” one of the Kawlin residents said.