The number of bomb attacks in Burma has increased sharply this year, to an average of more than one a month. The Irrawaddy has prepared (and will be regularly updating) a chronology dating back to 1983:
July 26, 2006
Unknown assailants explode a mine and fire at a group of civil servants in the jungle near Htantabin, Pegu Division, killing two civil servants and injuring five others. The attack takes place as a group of civil servants return home after helping locally-based soldiers in rural development work, according to official media reports.
July 24, 2006
A mine explodes in Penwegon, Pegu Division, and a 32-year old woman loses a foot in the blast. No one claims responsibility for the attack, but official media blames “armed insurgent groups.”
June 28, 2006
A bomb explodes in front of a grocery shop in the Burmese-Thai border town of Tachilek, eastern Shan State. The after-dark explosion, near the town’s Akha Market, causes minor damage and no one is injured. Police suspect the attack was aimed at the shop’s owner, a member of Tachilek’s traders association with close ties to local authorities.
June 06, 2006
A young carpenter, Yan Naing Lwin, loses a foot after stepping on a bomb while working on an electricity transformer in Pegu Division’s Kyaukdaga Township. Official media blames insurgents, without naming any particular group.
May 4, 2006
A bomb explodes near an electricity power transformer on a road between Penwegon and Kyauk Kyi, Pegu Division, causing slight damage.
April 20, 2006
Five small bombs explode in Rangoon’s Kyauktada and Lanmadaw townships, causing some property damage but no casualties.
April 6, 2006
Officials discover a suspected device at Yangon International School in Rangoon. School officials and the Rangoon-based US embassy later confirm that the device was a student prank.
March 2, 2006
Two bombs explode near a high school and an electricity power transformer in Taungoo, 280 km north of Rangoon, causing no casualties. The government accuses a Karen rebel of responsibility.
February 1, 2006
An explosion blows up a gas pipeline to Myainggalay cement factory, Mudon Township, Mon State. The government accuses the Karen National Union of responsibility.
January 30, 2006
A small bomb discovered at a local market is detonated at a police station in Pegu Division’s Pyu, about 230 km north of Rangoon, causing slight damage to buildings.
January 15, 2006
A small bomb explodes at a train station in Taungoo, 280 km north of Rangoon. No injuries are reported.
January 8, 2006
Two people are killed when two bombs explode at a market in the Burmese-Indian border town Tamu.
January 3, 2005
Two bombs explode in Pegu, about 80 km north of Rangoon, on the eve of celebrations marking the 58th anniversary of Burma’s Independence Day. No casualties are reported.
November 2, 2005
A small bomb explodes at a market in Penwegon, Pegu Division. No casualties are reported. The government blames the KNU for the attack.
October 21, 2005
A small bomb explodes in front of Rangoon’s luxury Traders Hotel. No casualties are reported.
May 12, 2005
A small bomb explodes at a bridge near Latpan village in Min Hla Township, Magwe Division. No casualties are reported.
May 07, 2005
Nearly simultaneous bomb blasts rock two supermarkets and a convention center in Rangoon, causing an official toll of 19 dead and 162 injured but probably killing many more people.
April 26, 2005
A bomb explodes on the ground floor of Mandalay’s landmark Zay Cho Market, killing four people and injuring 15.
March 19, 2005
A small bomb explodes before dawn in a bathroom at the Panorama Hotel in Rangoon. No injuries are reported.
March 17, 2005
A small bomb explodes on a bus in eastern Rangoon, while a similar device is found and defused in the bus terminal. No injuries are reported.
December 24, 2004
A charge hidden in a cassette player explodes at a sports equipment shop in front of a stadium in Pa-an, Karen State, killing a 21-year old student and injuring three others.
December 21, 2004
A small explosion at Zaw Gyi House, a French-owned cafe and silk shop near Rangoon’s downtown Bogyoke Market, slightly injures a waiter. No damage is caused to the two-story wooden building.
November 22, 2004
A bomb explodes near a road checkpoint in Kawkareik, Karen State, injuring five officials.
November 18, 2004
A small explosion occurs in front of the Southern Division Court in Rangoon, causing minor damage and no injuries.
June 26, 2004
Three small bombs explode near the main railway station in Rangoon. No one is injured. Four other unexploded bombs are later discovered.
February 26, 2004
A small bomb explodes in the bathroom of a house in Laiza, a town on the Chinese border in Kachin State. The owner of the house, Col Lazing Bawk, deputy chief of staff of the Kachin Independence Army, is seriously injured and dies from his wounds in hospital.
August 04, 2003
Three mines explode at three separate places around the embankment of Yongyi Ward in Monywa, Sagaing Division. No injuries are reported.
August 03, 2003
Several people die when a bomb explodes at the inauguration ceremony of an airport in Homalin, Sagaing Division, in upper Burma. The explosion occurs shortly before the arrival of high-ranking junta officials, including Secretary-2 Lt-Gen Soe Win.
June 27, 2003
Two bombs explode in Taungoo, Pegu Division. No injuries are reported.
May 21, 2003
Four bombs explode in Tachilek, a Burmese border town adjoining Mae Sai in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province, leaving four Burmese nationals dead and destroying a statue of King Bayintnaung.
May 15, 2003
A bomb rocks a cinema in Pyu, about 230 km north of Rangoon, killing one person and injuring 47.
March 27, 2003
A bomb explodes in front of a state telecommunications office in Rangoon, killing at least one person and wounding three, as the country marks Armed Forces Day. Another bomb explodes near Maha Bandoola Park, opposite the US Embassy, injuring one person.
November 15, 2002
The Burmese Embassy in the Philippines capital Manila receives a letter bomb, which fails to detonate. The booby-trapped letter was postmarked Thailand.
October 30, 2002
The Burmese embassy in Singapore receives a letter bomb postmarked Thailand.
October 29, 2002
The Burmese embassy in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, receives a letter bomb postmarked Thailand. Security officials defuse the device.
October 28, 2002
The Burmese embassy in Tokyo, Japan, receives a letter bomb, which is defused by security officials. The Burmese government blames Thailand-based dissidents.
October 17, 2002
A bomb severely damages the Tada Kyoe bridge near Thaingan Nyi Naung, 30 km west of Myawaddy, opposite Thailand’s Mae Sot. Another bomb explodes opposite the Burmese army’s Light Infantry Battalion 356 base, near the bridge.
October 15, 2002
Two separate bombs explode in Burma’s Myawaddy Township after the Thai-Burma border reopens early in the morning. Another unexploded bomb is found nearby. No injuries are reported.
May 4, 2001
A bomb explodes while security officials are defusing a suspicious package found in Mandalay’s Zay Cho market. Officials say thirty four people were injured in the explosion.
January 4, 2000
A bomb is discovered in front of the Rangoon City Hall as the country marks Burma’s Independence Day.
May 21, 1998
A bomb explodes at the Myoma cinema in Mandalay, killing one person and injuring 11. The government blames Shan guerillas for the attack.
May 22, 1997
A bomb explosion at Loikaw Airport damages several buildings. The government’s military intelligence personnel say they suspect that those responsible for the bombing were being hidden by sympathizers from the ward. They question about 800 civilians living in the vicinity.
April 10, 1997
A bomb explosion at the Defense Services Academy in Maymyo, where only authorized military personnel are allowed, kills a major and 14 cadets and injures a further 10 cadets.
April 06, 1997
A parcel bomb explodes at the Rangoon home of one of Burma’s top generals, Lt-Gen Tin Oo, killing his eldest daughter. The military government claims the airmailed bomb was sent by a Japan-based anti-government group.
December 25, 1996
Two bombs explode at a Burmese Buddhist shrine, the Kaba Aye Pagoda and Maha Pasana Cave in Rangoon on Christmas Day, killing five people and wounding 17.
October 24, 1996
A time bomb is discovered at the entrance to an electronics shop in Mandalay.
July 3, 1996
A bomb explodes next to a government propaganda billboard opposite the US embassy in central Rangoon, causing minor damage and no injuries.
February, 1996
A bomb explodes at a military intelligence office in Haka, the capital of Chin State. One officer is injured.
November 30, 1995
Two bomb blasts occur in Tamu, on the Burmese side of the Indo-Burma border town. No injuries are reported.
April 12, 1995
Five bombs explode in separate locations and at different times in the Burmese border town of Tachilek, killing three Burmese soldiers and wounding three other people.
November 13, 1989
A time bomb is discovered at the Burmese Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. The explosive device is identified as a powerful plastic explosive known as “Composition 4”, or C4, used by military forces and terrorists around the world.
July 7, 1989
A parcel bomb explodes in the compound of Thanlyin Oil Refinery, Rangoon Division.
October 9, 1983
A powerful bomb explodes at Burma’s Martyrs’ Mausoleum in Rangoon while the then South Korea president, Chun Doo-Hwan and his cabinet are paying homage. The explosion kills 17 South Koreans—including four cabinet members—and four Burmese.
Last Update: August 02, 2006
