Two killed in Myanmar blasts: official

YANGON: Two people were killed and five injured in two blasts Wednesday in eastern Myanmar, an area wracked by a decades-old ethnic insurgency, an official said.

Two explosive devices went off in the early evening in the border town of Myawaddy in Karen State, killing one man and one woman, said the official, who did not want to be named.

"The local authorities are still investigating the blasts," the official said.

It was not immediately clear what type of devices were involved, but a local resident contacted by telephone said the explosions were believed to have been caused by grenades accidentally detonated by border guard forces.

The incident came as lawmakers gathered at Myanmar's new parliament in the capital Naypyidaw following a widely criticised November election in which an army-backed party claimed a huge victory.

A simmering civil war has wracked parts of the country since independence in 1948.

Many groups have previously signed ceasefire agreements with the junta, but tensions have increased after the regime's attempts to bring ethnic armies under state control as "border guard forces" met with fierce resistance.

At least three civilians were killed when heavy-weapons fire from ethnic rebels hit Myawaddy the day after the November election, causing thousands to flee temporarily across the border into Thailand.