Following the deaths of eight people and the wounding of 14 others at an incident outside the gates of Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison on 19 October, the anti-junta National Unity Government (NUG) has released a statement.
The deaths and injuries happened when two bombs exploded in a parcel reception area at the prison and prison guards then fired indiscriminately from guard towers
The NUG statement expressed sorrow for the deaths while censuring and condemning any person or group committing an act that harms the civilian population. It said that under the NUG code of conduct “only military targets under the command of the military dictatorship should be targeted. The intimidation of civilians and the targeting of civilians is explicitly contrary to the code and must be avoided at all times.”
The NUG statement also said that it was investigating the incident.
According to witnesses, the bomb blasts happened at about 9:40 a.m. in the parcel reception area where visitors can take in parcels for inmates. Following the blasts prison guards opened fire.
A witness said: “There is a [guards] tower next to the front gate of Insein. Two bombs went off and after that the guards in the tower fired 10 shots. Only three people were killed by the bomb. I can confirm that the five other people were shot and killed by the prison guards.”
According to the junta authorities, five visitors and three members of staff were killed by the bombs exploding amongst those waiting in line to deliver packages. They made no mention of the guards firing or being responsible for any of the deaths.
According to witnesses the five victims who were killed by gunfire were 10 feet (three meters) away from the explosions and they were killed by bullets and shrapnel from bullets, rather than being killed by the explosions.
According to a former political prisoner who spoke to DVB members of political prisoners families were among the dead and injured. According to the BBC, one of the dead was the mother of student leader Lin Htet Naing, alias James, who was arrested by Myanmar's military authorities last June. She had been delivering a rice box to her son during the week of his court hearing.
The Special Task Agency of Burma (STA) guerrilla group, one of many independent resistance groups fighting against the military regime in Myanmar, claimed responsibility for the explosions.
In a statement, the organisation said: "Today, STA conducted two attacks to kill the prison chief. We were taking revenge on Min Aung Hlaing and the prison guards for consistently torturing our revolutionary fighters.”
STA has carried out many attacks on the junta regime, including a raid on the Thingyunkyun Township Immigration Office in Yangon City in August.
Following the explosions at Insein Prison deliveries of foods and parcels to Mandalay’s Obo Prison and Myinchan Prison have been banned according to locals.
A visitor to Obo Prison said to Mizzima: “Before I was allowed to bring gifts and medicine to the inmate on a regular basis. Even if we weren’t allowed to see the inmate before, we could still get things to them
