Bombs in Court‑Nets: Chaos Strikes Myanmar’s Biggest Jail
The Insein Prison in Yangon was rocked on Wednesday when a burst of homemade bombs hurled through parcels, sending a grapefruit‑sized blast that killed three officers, five visitors, and left a gallery of the wounded with a soundtrack of shattered glass and fury.
Who Fired the Shots?
- A clandestine anti‑junta group, the Special Task Agency of Burma (STA), claimed the hit, labeling it “retaliation against the regime’s boss, Min Aung Hlaing.”
- Their message was clear: “We’re targeting corrupt jail hands and the military that’s been raining fire on our revolution.”
What Went Down?
State TV Messy MRTV reported the chaos was caused by “mines slipped into bags.” The explosion was a flurry of shrapnel that left nine dead in total and 18 others wounded. A first‑hand witness shared that while the bombs didn’t hit them directly, gunfire from soldiers popping off at the gate sliced through the crowd.
Gunfire After the Boom
“I heard the boom, sprinted out and boom—scar from a stray bolt,” the witness recounted, staying anonymous for safety. The soldiers, it sounded, threw rounds “recklessly” as if playing a game of “who can shoot the most.”
Medic Mysteries
- Seriously injured inmates were whisked out of the penitentiary; the others got patched up in nearby shops.
- Many court hearings in the adjoining justice building were pulled apart because the scene turned into a battlefield.
Outlook: Stabbing the Guts of the Cops
Activists decried the attack, demanding that the perpetrators be answered to—“rightfully accountable, no exceptions.” The STA’s audacious string of raids, including one in August on an immigration office in Thingyunkyun, shows the insurgent fight is as stubborn as a mule inching toward freedom.
Insein’s Reputation
Insein has been the ‘most notorious’ in the Myanmar spectrum, a choke‑point where thousands of political prisoners have been sent since last year’s coup—an unmistakable symbol of the iron grip the military wrangles.
