A series of explosions rocked at least seven locations in Yangon, including state-owned offices, a military cantonment area and a shopping mall, on Wednesday.
Three explosions occurred in the early morning in a cantonment area near the Shwedagon Pagoda, in Yangon’s Dagon Township, where the families of military personnel are housed.
A witness told The Irrawaddy that the blasts came from stun grenades that had been put on a vehicle on Ziwaka Street in front of the housing unit. Although the vehicle received minor damage, no heavy damage to the surrounding area was reported.
The regime’s state-run Myawaddy TV reported Wednesday evening that three stun grenades exploded in that incident, one near the housing, a second one in a garbage bin and a third one on the windshield of a parked car.
Three other explosions reportedly occurred near the Yangon’s Hluttaw compound in Dagon Township when three grenades were thrown, the regime’s TV station reported.
Another two explosions occurred at the Sanchaung Township administration office and under the Myaynigone Flyover bridge in the township.
Some vehicles near the administration office received damage.
In addition, stun grenades were reported to have exploded at the Myanmar Plaza shopping mall in Bahan Township and near the eight miles junction in Mayangone Township. Those blasts came after an explosion occurred at the Myanmar Port Authority office at Yangon’s Kyauktada Township on Wednesday morning.
Those responsible for the explosions remain unknown.
On Myanmar’s most popular social media platform, Facebook, people voiced their suspicions about who might be behind the attacks, given the locations of some of the blasts.
Located in the vicinity of former War Office, which is still occupied by the military, and other army-related buildings, the cantonment on Ziwaka Street was believed to be impregnable.
Many people have expressed suspicions that the regime arranged the blasts as a pretext to escalate the crackdown on anti-regime protesters who have been accused by military coup leaders of destabilizing the country.
The regime claims nightly via state-run TV that “rioters”—the military’s euphemism for anti-regime protesters—are attacking government offices, local level administration offices and police stations.
On Tuesday afternoon, a bus owned by the military regime was damaged by an explosion while it was being parked at the compound of a bus terminal owned by the regime at Yangon’s South Oakkalap Township.
Last week, two military-owned shopping malls in Yangon-—one downtown and another in the northern part of city—burned down during curfew hours when no civilians were not allowed to be out.
Following the February coup, more than two dozen government offices, local administration offices and police stations in the country had been attacked.
Amid the daily deadly crackdowns and arrests, tens of thousands of people across Myanmar have taken to the streets to show their defiance of military regime.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 590 people have been killed by the military regime during their lethal crackdowns, shootings and raids against the anti-regime protests, bystanders, pedestrians and residents.
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