Army shelling in Myanmar blamed for setting 160 homes ablaze

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Reports from Myanmar say more than 160 buildings in a northwestern town, including at least two churches, have been destroyed by fires caused by government shelling. A government spokesman blamed insurgents for setting the fires. The destruction of buildings in Thantlang in Chin state appeared to be another escalation in the ongoing struggle between Myanmar’s military-installed government and forces opposed to it. The army seized power in February from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Human rights groups and U.N. experts have recently warned that the government is planning a major offensive in the northwest, including Chin state. The humanitarian aid agency Save the Children says its offices were in one of the buildings that was deliberately set ablaze.