Three bombs exploded at different locations in Myanmar’s Rakhine state early on Saturday, AFP reported. The explosions took place in Rakhine’s capital of Sittwe, including one at the home of a high-level official, the Myanmar Police said.

“Three bombs exploded and three other unexploded bombs were found. A police officer was injured but not seriously,” an unidentified police officer said. He said the blasts occured at 4 am local time (3 am Indian Standard Time).

One of the bombs exploded in the compound of the state government secretary’s residence. Another went off near an office in the city and a third on a road leading to a beach. “Some streets are being blocked by police already because of the bomb blasts,” Sittwe resident Zaw Zaw told AFP.

Communal violence in Rakhine

The explosions come almost six months after violence broke out in the state last year. The violence erupted on August 25, 2017, after a militant attack on security forces resulted in a violent crackdown. Lakhs of Rohingyas have since fled to Bangladesh, where they have been living in cramped refugee camps. The United Nations and the United States called it an “ethnic cleansing” of the Muslim minority, while the Human Rights Watch said the Myanmar military massacred people and raped, arbitrarily arrested and set ablaze hundreds of predominantly Rohingya villages in Rakhine.