Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin hit by explosions as Myanmar junta marks Thingyan holiday

A series of blasts were reported in Mandalay and the military stronghold of Pyin Oo Lwin on Sunday, both apparently targeting regime-held festivities marking the annual Thingyan water festival. According to sources in Mandalay, the first explosion occurred at around 10:30am near a Thingyan stage erected by the city’s mayor in Chanayethazan Township. It was followed soon after by a second blast. “The second bomb went off 15 minutes after the first one. We heard it was at the mayor’s pandal. Later we found out that it took place at the motorcycle parking area,” a Mandalay resident told Myanmar Now. The junta’s Ministry of Information (MOI) claimed that at least 12 people, including five children, were injured in the incident. Local social welfare teams said at least three of the injured are in critical condition and were receiving treatment at Mandalay General Hospital. Regime spokesperson Zaw Min Tun blamed the attack on the People’s Defence Force (PDF), the armed wing of the publicly mandated National Unity Government, but so far no group has claimed responsibility. A similar incident was reported on April 9 at a Thingyan stage set up near a Mandalay shopping centre. Most residents of the city have boycotted regime-organised events related to the traditional Myanmar New Year’s holiday since the 2021 military coup. One of the victims of the explosion in Mandalay’s Chanayethazan Township that left at least a dozen people injured on April 14, according to Myanmar’s junta (Supplied) Meanwhile, in Pyin Oo Lwin, a garrison town located some 40 miles east of Mandalay, residents reported hearing multiple loud explosions followed by gunfire at around 9:15pm on Sunday. Initial reports by pro-regime media said the target of the assault was the Defence Services Academy (DSA), an elite officer-training school that was also hit by a mortar attack by the anti-junta Mandalay Region People’s Defence Team on April 8. A statement released by the MOI on Monday claimed that at least 11 improvised shells landed on three of the town’s residential wards, hitting a monastery, a hospital, and a hotel. At least two monks and one other resident were killed and a dozen others, including children, were injured, the statement claimed. However, no information was provided about the attack on the DSA. The latest incident in Pyin Oo Lwin coincided with the arrival of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and other senior army generals, who are in Pyin Oo Lwin to celebrate the Thingyan water festival. According to local sources, the streets of the town were deserted on Monday amid tightened security following the blast. The Mandalay PDF has claimed responsibility for the attack, but has yet to release a detailed statement.

Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin hit by explosions as Myanmar junta marks Thingyan holiday

The regime says at least three were killed in the attacks, and dozens more injured

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