Mine Blasts in Myanmar Eastern State

Mine blasts in Myanmar eastern state

YANGON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — A mine exploded in Myanmar’s eastern Kayah state on Wednesday, injuring eight villagers, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar said Thursday.

The mine, planted in bushes near a village in Loikaw, went off when the villagers were clearing the bushes near the base of a tower, the report said.

The authorities accused unidentified groups of insurgents of being responsible for the incident.

The government has made peace with 17 main anti-government armed groups since the adoption of the national reconciliation policy in 1989. However, legacies of the three decades of war continue to claim new victims daily throughout the country.

According to earlier official reports, three villagers were killed and four others injured last October as they stepped on mines allegedly planted by insurgents in Ye township in southeastern Mon state and Kyaukkyi township in northeastern Kayinstate.

In June, a total of 27 people were killed and 11 others woundedin two shooting sprees on passenger buses by unidentified insurgent groups in Myanmar’s Kayin and Kayah states in two consecutive days.

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