Burmese authorities have warned their citizens not to believe a fast-spreading rumor about a bomb attack in the capital, Rangoon, Monday.
State media carried a message from the government late Monday saying a rumor that a bomb went off in a Rangoon school had been investigated and was untrue. The Associated Press reports many parents rushed to schools to pick up their children after hearing the rumor, and telephone lines were jammed.
The government blamed the rumor on people seeking to create social instability.
Burmese authorities have tightened security since May seventh, when bomb attacks on a convention hall and two shopping centers killed at least 19 people.