Soldiers guard Burma general's home

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Subject: Soldiers guard Burma general's home after reports of  bombing

Soldiers guard Burma general's home after reports of
      bombing
      April 7, 1997
      2.04 a.m. EDT (0604 GMT)

      RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- A bomb exploded in the home of a leading
      member of Burma's military government, a senior military officer
      said Monday. The general was unhurt, he said. 

      The senior military officer, who demanded anonymity, confirmed
      that an explosion had occurred Sunday night at the house of Gen.
      Tin Oo, one of Burma's most powerful generals and the possible
      target of an earlier bomb attack. 

      Tin Oo was uninjured, the officer said, declining to comment on
      widespread rumors that Tin Oo's eldest daughter had been killed
      in a letter bomb explosion. 

      Several soldiers stood guard Monday morning outside the closed
      gates of the general's compound. Earlier, between 20 and 35
      soldiers were posted around the house, located in a western
      Rangoon suburb. 

      Security police who normally patrol the area said they had heard a
      blast in the area sometime between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
      Sunday. From the street, there was no apparent damage to the
      one-story building. 

      There is already a heavy military presence in Rangoon, as well as
      in other Burmese cities, following recent clashes between
      Buddhist monks and Muslims. Tensions between the military
      government and its democratic and ethnic opponents also are
      running high. 

      In July, a small device exploded beneath a government billboard,
      located near the U.S. Embassy, urging citizens to crush foreign
      stooges and internal enemies of the state. No one was hurt in the
      blast. 

      On Christmas Eve, two bombs exploded in a temple housing a
      tooth believed to have belonged to Buddha, killing five and injuring
      17. 

      The bomb went off shortly after Tin Oo had visited the temple. 

      Government officials blamed the blast on the Karen National
      Union, a border-based armed wing of an ethnic group seeking
      autonomy from Rangoon. The Karen were not believed to have
      the capability to stage bombings in the capital. 

      Government opponents accused the military of planting the
      bombs as a pretext for launching a crackdown on the democratic
      and ethnic opposition.