Myanmar explosion injures seven

YANGON, Myanmar, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- A blast Thursday in Yangon injured seven people amid tight security by Myanmar's junta ahead of the first anniversary of its anti-government crackdown.

The explosion occurred at a park near city hall in the country's main city, also called Rangoon, CNN reported, quoting police.

The military government, which brutally put down pro-democracy protests last September, has been on alert with the approach of the first anniversary of that event with rumors of another uprising this year, the report said.

In last year's crackdown, up to 110 people were believed to have died, including 40 Buddhist monks who led the protests throughout Myanmar, formerly Burma.

Early this week, the government released several political prisoners, including the nation's longest-serving political prisoner, U Win Tin, CNN reported.

Earlier this month, the junta claimed "internal and external destructive elements" were plotting to detonate more bombs in busy places in the country. That warning, carried by the state-run New Light of Myanmar, came after two bomb explosions in a video lounge in Kyuaukkyi, in which the government said a man and a woman died.