The local resistance force claims that the attack was carried out after the office had closed, and was intended as a warning.
Two Mon State-based People’s Defence Forces (PDFs)—in Ye and Thanbyuzayat townships—jointly claimed responsibility for an after-hours bombing of a ward administration office in Thanbyuzayat on Tuesday.
A leader within the Ye PDF (YPDF) said that the attack was timed to occur after the office in Aung Chanthar ward had closed and the staff had left, and was intended as a “warning” to the military council’s local administrative mechanism.
“We tried not to harm anyone because this is just a warning. We chose to detonate it after office hours so that no one would be hurt,” said the YPDF member.
In photos of the office released by the YPDF after the explosion, damage could be seen to the wall around the office and to the building itself.
The YPDF leader said that PDF chapters nationwide had been trying to carry out targeted attacks against the junta without harming civilians, and have at times had to abandon plans when large numbers of people have travelled to their respective areas, especially in southeastern Myanmar.
“People are going on pilgrimages while we’re out there trying to fight for them. Tons of people are coming to the Kyaikkhami Pagoda in Thanbyuzayat. It’s a problem that PDFs all over the country are facing,” he told Myanmar Now, adding, “We urge civilians to not travel if not necessary.”
PDFs in the region have announced that they are focusing their attacks on members of the shadowy pro-military Pyu Saw Htee network. Meanwhile, the military council has been continuing to arrest and kill locals suspected of being PDF members.
Junta troops shot and killed a 26-year-old man at the Chaung Taung checkpoint on the Ye River bridge on September 28, after alleging that he tried to run from the military.
Another man was also shot and killed at the same location on September 20, according to the Mon News Agency. The local news outlet cited “police sources” who said the man had thrown a grenade at the security checkpoint at around 9pm near the bridge and was subsequently shot.
A spokesperson from the YPDF told Myanmar Now that the man was a civilian with no connection to the group, but that the resistance force had in fact attacked that checkpoint on the day in question hours earlier.