NANG SENG NOM — The assailants shot at the building in Swam Sor ward at around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. According to Muse General Administration Department (GAD) officer, grenades were also thrown at the site.

“Nobody was hurt. At least five grenades landed in the compound,” Thurein, the officer, told SHAN, adding that the military and police were inspecting the scene.

Muse parliamentarian Sai Kyaw Thein said that reports indicated that a group of unidentified armed men came with a car and attacked the building, which is near the Chinese border. A bullet was reported found across the border.

“The gunmen came with a car. They wore civilian clothes. We still don’t know who they are. A bullet landed near a Chinese school in the Jieguo area in China,” the MP told SHAN. “I don’t exactly know what is it inside the building.”

It was the second attack on a building involving the use of explosives this month in Muse. Two homemade bombs blasted in front of an office of telecommunications provider MPT on the night of April 12.

“This kind of incident frequently occurs in Muse, so nobody pays attention to it. People are trying to stay at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” parliamentarian Sai Kyaw Thein told SHAN.

Muse local Sai Maung said that these explosions typically occur outside of residential areas.

“Usually, bombs don’t go off in the civilian ward. Mostly, bombs used to explode in the government’s buildings and the PMF’s buildings,” Muse local Sai Maung told SHAN.

Police have reportedly tightened security around Muse in the days following the most recent blast, particularly around the Pang Kham bridge, where the blast too place, GAD officer Thurein said.

The Burma Army ordered PMFs in Muse Township to return to their base camps in February, and to refrain from carrying weapons outside of their bases, with the exception of Myoma PMF. They also ordered casinos and gambling houses in Muse to close.