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AFP) – Myanmar state media urged revellers at annual water festivities to be on guard Friday after bomb blasts killed eight people at a park in the military-ruled country's biggest city. People should "remain vigilant against potential atrocities" and inform the authorities if they see anything suspicious, the English-language New Light of Myanmar newspaper said. Officials had initially reported that nine people died Thursday in three explosions near Kandawgyi Lake in the former capital Yangon,
but later said they had miscounted the number of fatalities. State media said 170 people were wounded in the park, where thousands of people were gathered for water-throwing festivities to mark the Buddhist New Year. It was the worst bomb attack in Yangon since a series of blasts in May 2005 at two supermarkets and a convention centre killed 23 people. The junta blamed those explosions on exile groups. Thursday's blasts came as the country prepares for elections planned for this year that critics have dismissed as a sham due to the effective barring of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi because she is a serving prisoner. The United States condemned Thursday's attacks and said it was unsure about the motivation. "We condemn any kind of violence that victimises innocent civilians," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were the victims of this bombing," he said. Washington maintains sanctions on the regime but initiated a cautious dialogue with the junta last year, concluding that the previous US policy of trying to isolate the regime had failed. Hundreds of revellers returned to the same park Friday on the final day of the Thingyan New Year festival, watched by dozens of police officers. State television said late Thursday that an investigation had begun to find the "destructionists" behind the explosions. Myanmar has been hit by several bomb blasts in recent years, which the junta has blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic rebels. The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, partly justifying its grip on power by the need to fend off ethnic rebellions that have plagued remote border areas for decades. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the junta never allowed it to take office. The Nobel peace laureate, who advocates non-violent resistance, has been under house arrest almost constantly since. Armed minorities in Karen and Shan states continue to fight the government along the country's eastern border, alleging they are subject to neglect and mistreatment. The regime recently stepped up its decades-long campaign against the rebels in an apparent attempt to crush them before the polls, expected before early November this year.
but later said they had miscounted the number of fatalities. State media said 170 people were wounded in the park, where thousands of people were gathered for water-throwing festivities to mark the Buddhist New Year. It was the worst bomb attack in Yangon since a series of blasts in May 2005 at two supermarkets and a convention centre killed 23 people. The junta blamed those explosions on exile groups. Thursday's blasts came as the country prepares for elections planned for this year that critics have dismissed as a sham due to the effective barring of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi because she is a serving prisoner. The United States condemned Thursday's attacks and said it was unsure about the motivation. "We condemn any kind of violence that victimises innocent civilians," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were the victims of this bombing," he said. Washington maintains sanctions on the regime but initiated a cautious dialogue with the junta last year, concluding that the previous US policy of trying to isolate the regime had failed. Hundreds of revellers returned to the same park Friday on the final day of the Thingyan New Year festival, watched by dozens of police officers. State television said late Thursday that an investigation had begun to find the "destructionists" behind the explosions. Myanmar has been hit by several bomb blasts in recent years, which the junta has blamed on armed exile groups or ethnic rebels. The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, partly justifying its grip on power by the need to fend off ethnic rebellions that have plagued remote border areas for decades. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the junta never allowed it to take office. The Nobel peace laureate, who advocates non-violent resistance, has been under house arrest almost constantly since. Armed minorities in Karen and Shan states continue to fight the government along the country's eastern border, alleging they are subject to neglect and mistreatment. The regime recently stepped up its decades-long campaign against the rebels in an apparent attempt to crush them before the polls, expected before early November this year.