On Tuesday members of the Karen National Union (KNU) detonated a mine under the passenger bus as it drove from Kawkareik to Myawady in the Karen State and then fired on passengers, said The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece.

The state-run newspaper blasted the KNU for “constantly committing all destructive acts such as undermining stability of the State, community peace and tranquillity and prevalence of law and order, killing and bullying innocent people, detonating bombs, armed robberies, collecting extortion money, and burning public property.”

The KNU is one of Burma’s oldest, longest-lasting insurgencies.

It has been fighting for the autonomy of the Karen State since 1949, the year after Burma won its independence from Great Britain.

While Burma’s state-controlled media occasionally reports about the petty acts of sabotage committed the KNU, it steadfastly ignores the atrocities committed by the Burmese military against Karen villagers including rape, forced labour and an offensive in their state that has been described as genocidal by outside observers.