Two bombs exploded on Sunday night in the Shan-China border town of Muse. No one was injured, but locals say they are concerned about what the bomb blasts reveal about the lack of security in their area.

The bombs, which appeared to have been homemade, went off in front of the local office of telecommunications provider MPT in Muse at around 10:30 p.m. on April 12.

“Nobody was hurt. A shop and a car were damaged. Locals felt so scared after bombs blasted in the town,” Thaung Tun of the Muse Garuna Social Volunteer Team told SHAN.

Eyewitnesses said that two young men or teenage boys, whose identities remain unknown, reportedly left the bombs in front of the MPT shop and left by motorbike.

Locals said that their current fear has been the coronavirus pandemic, but that the bomb blasts are a reminder of the violence that also continues in northern Shan State.

“We are afraid of COVID-19 pandemic, and on the other hand, we are worried about our security,” Muse resident Sai Khin told SHAN.

According to Sai Khin, the bomb blast was loud enough to shake nearby homes.

“I don’t know whether we are living here with fear,” he said of the town, which he described as “silent,” since trade has come to a halt and more people are staying home to avoid contracting the virus.

SHAN repeatedly tried to contact the Muse Myoma police station to obtain further information about the bomb blasts, but no one had responded at the time of reporting.