TYB!
Myanmar's junta says terrorists exploded bombs outside Yangon's Insein prison, killing eight
Key points:
・Five visitors, including a 10-year-old girl, and three prison staff were killed when two bombs went off at Insein Prison
・Thirteen visitors, including a 9-year-old boy, and five prison personnel were hospitalised
・An unexploded bomb was found in a parcel
At least eight people have been killed in a bombing near the front gate of Myanmar's main prison for political detainees in Yangon, the country's biggest city.
Five people who were delivering parcels to prisoners and three prison staff were killed when two bombs exploded at Insein Prison at around 9:40am (local time) on Wednesday, News Of Myanmar, a website sympathetic to the country's military government, reported.
The blasts occurred inside and outside a parcel reception office near the main iron gate of the notorious prison, which houses thousands of political prisoners sent there since last year's military coup.
The military's information office said five visitors, including a 10-year-old girl, and three prison staff were killed, and that an unexploded bomb was found in a parcel.
It said 13 visitors, including a 9-year-old boy, and five prison personnel were being treated for injuries at Insein township hospital.
Families of prisoners are allowed to bring parcels with items such as food, clothing and medicine to the prison.
Bomb blasts, gunfire at Myanmar’s biggest prison kills eight, including guards
Prison staff and civilians are reportedly among those killed after shots are allegedly fired from a watchtower at Yangon’s Insein Prison following a parcel bomb attack
https://t.co/RKBepoVHgf
— Myanmar Now (@Myanmar_Now_Eng) October 19, 2022
Resistance groups condemn attack
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack, but the military junta had earlier blamed "terrorists".
The Yangon Revolution Force, Yangon Urban Guerrillas and General Strike Committee — all resistance groups engaged in struggle against military rule — released statements on their Facebook pages condemning the attacks for hurting civilians.
Photos of the bombings, distributed by the military's information office, showed items scattered by the blasts and blood on the floor inside the prison reception office.
A witness told Reuters soldiers at the prison had opened fire in response to the blasts.
"As soon as I heard the blast, I ran out and that's when I got hurt.
"The soldiers … at the entrance gate fired shots recklessly," said the witness, who declined to be named because of security reasons.
The witness said they were about three metres away from the blasts and were hurt not by the explosion, but from shrapnel from gunfire.
A resident who lives near the prison's entrance gate told the Associated Press he heard about 10 gunshots after hearing the two explosions, but did not know if they caused any casualties.
A lawyer who went to the prison about an hour after the blasts said the areas for arriving visitors and receiving parcels were empty when he arrived, and extra security had been deployed in front of the prison's main gate.
He said he was told that hearings at the court inside the prison had been postponed.
The resident and the lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of being targeted by security forces for speaking to the media.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi last year, triggering nationwide peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with deadly force.
The repression led to widespread armed resistance, which has since turned into what some UN experts have characterised as civil war.
Some 2,367 civilians have died in a crackdown on resistance, according to detailed lists compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights watchdog group.
Bombings and shootings in Myanmar cities and armed clashes in the countryside occur daily.
Urban guerillas opposed to military rule carry out targeted killings of people associated with the military and bombings of establishments with official ties.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-19/bomb-blasts-outside-yangon-prison-kill-eight-wound-18-junta/101554450
Hong Kong Seizes Drugs Hidden in Electrical TransformersThe Associated Press Oct 19, 2022
HONG KONG—A multimillion-dollar stash of methamphetamine hidden in electrical transformers being sent from Mexico to Australia has been intercepted at Hong Kong’s airport, authorities said Tuesday.
The 76 kilograms (168 pounds) of crystal meth was found Friday in false compartments in the three transformers, a Hong Kong customs official said. She said the transformers appeared suspicious when they were X-rayed.
“We only saw simple structures but could not see other components that should have been there, such as high voltage cables or coils of wire,” senior Inspector Lam Kai-shan told reporters.
Hong Kong customs estimated the market value of the drugs at $46 million Hong Kong dollars ($5.9 million). The street value would have soared to $68 million Australian dollars ($43 million) in Australia, police there said.
“We are now working together and following every lead to find those responsible for this importation,” Detective Superintendent Timothy Underhill of the Australian Federal Police said in a statement. “Someone in Australia must know about this shipment, and we are very interested in talking to them.”
The Australian statement said Hong Kong officers found the drugs after receiving intelligence from Australian police and other agencies. The air cargo shipment was to be delivered to an address in the western Sydney suburb of Blacktown, it said.
https://www.ntd.com/hong-kong-seizes-drugs-hidden-in-electrical-transformers_857838.html