A heavy artillery shell hit a house close to Mandalay Palace, near the location of the Myanmar military’s central command headquarters, at around 4am on Monday, with no reported casualties.
The two-storey building was located in Seik Ta Ra Ma Hi Ward in Chanayethazan Township. A resident of the township told Myanmar Now on Monday that the explosion might have been due to an attack by groups targeting the army, but the shell landed in an area inhabited by civilians.
“The weapon was probably a 107mm or 120mm short-range rocket. The sound of the explosion even shook the houses,” said the Chanayethazan resident.
A few seconds after the explosion, a series of gunshots was heard, he said.
“I heard the people living in that house were on a pilgrimage at the time. It was lucky no one was in the house. Only buildings got damaged,” he said.
When the shell detonated, it reportedly not only damaged the building itself, but also nearby houses, a car, utility poles and power lines.
No group had claimed responsibility, and neither the military council nor the resistance groups had released statements about the explosion as of Monday. Both sides use heavy artillery.
Posts on pro-junta social media propaganda channels said something that looked like a heavy artillery shell struck the roof of a two-storey building near Mandalay Palace.
Mandalay residents said that junta troops are raiding buildings in Chanayethazan Township in search of the perpetrators.
The People’s Defence Forces (PDF) operating under the command of the National Unity Government (NUG) announced on September 9 that their four district battalions in Mandalay had united to form a larger unit and were planning to launch more attacks against junta forces in Mandalay.
The Mandalay PDF (MDY-PDF), which is based in Nawnghkio Township, Shan State, and is composed of five resistance battalions, also announced that they planned to establish a base in Mandalay.
Bomb attacks on a security checkpoint, a branch of the military-owned Myawaddy Bank, and other military targets occurred last month.
On September 29, the junta released a statement announcing new restrictions on motorcycle riding in Amarapura Township, Mandalay, which is adjacent to the city of Sagaing. In the two and half years since the coup, there have been frequent attacks on the Amarapura Township police station, courts, and administrative offices, which the military regime controls.
In Amarapura Township, the junta has issued a ban on two or more men riding a motorcycle at once or a man riding on a motorcycle with a woman driving. Amarapura is the first township in Mandalay where authorities have imposed this kind of restriction.
Monday’s explosion occurred close to the time when junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was due to arrive in Pyin Oo Lwin, some 40 miles east of Mandalay. Security was tightened in the town in preparation for his visit.
Residents said that there were noticeably fewer security checks on the streets of Mandalay on Sunday, but a much higher presence of soldiers, police, and traffic officers in Pyin Oo Lwin on the same day.
