Policeman Injured in Grenade Attack on Hsipaw Police Station

By The Irrawaddy 3 July 2017

A policeman was wounded when Hsipaw Township police station in northern Shan State was attacked with an improvised grenade early on Sunday morning.

A motorcyclist threw the explosive device into the station compound in the northeast of downtown Hsipaw at 4:30 a.m. before escaping, according to a statement released by the Commander-in-Chief’s Office.

The policeman on guard suffered minor injuries and the blast also damaged a Toyota Land Cruiser seized last week in the arrest of seven people, including three journalists, on suspicion of association with ethnic armed group the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which is active in the area.

Township Police Chief Myint Win reportedly told media on Sunday authorities have launched an investigation into the attack and suggested the armed group may be behind the attack as three of those arrested were ethnic Ta’ang, also known as Palaung.

“We are still looking for the culprit,” he said. “It may be related to the unlawful association cases [of the three Ta’ang]. It’s possible that [the culprit] launched the attack as they are not pleased with case,” he said.