According to reports, a bomb exploded at 8:45 pm yesterday, February 18th, in the home of U Thet Cho, headman of Ye Township’s Duya village in Mon State. An 18 year old university student from Duya sustained back injuries from the blast, and is being treated at Duya hospital. No suspects have been detained.

“An 18 year-old boy was hurt by the bomb. Not the headman’s son. While he [the victim] was visiting the headman’s home, it exploded. The bomb hurt his back,” a Duya villager told IMNA.

According to this Duya villager, Duya residents suspect that the bomb was thrown into U Thet Cho’s home through a window, but this theory has yet to be confirmed. The case has no known suspects.

According to a second Duya resident, whose home is located near that of U Thet Cho’s, Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 61 Commander Cho Tun Aung, and 4 privates from the battalion, arrived in Duya on the same night as the blast from their base in Ye Town, located roughly 3 miles away from Duya. The soldiers investigated the site of the explosion, as well as homes in the immediate vicinity of the blast.

“After bomb exploded, after a little while the privates arrived here [in Duya]. I was afraid that they [the battalion privates] would investigate us, so I closed my door early, “ he added.

According to a Duya native currently working in Malaysia, U Thet Cho has held the post of Duya village headman for 8 years; he earns his living by cultivating a rubber plantation, while his wife, Daw Khin Than Htay, sells textiles. The couple has one son and one daughter.

“He has been on duty as a headman for a long time. Some villagers like him, but some do not. This event was caused by someone who does not like him, they threw it [the bomb] I think” he opined.