Shooting in Yangon near Suu Kyi's home: police

YANGON (AFP) - A rare shooting incident has taken place late Monday in the leafy Yangon neighbourhood where Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest, police said.

Police said the shooting happened near the State Guesthouse, a military facility that has been the venue for recent talks between the Nobel peace prize winner and a liaison officer for the military government.

The facility is in the same neighbourhood as Aung San Suu Kyi's home on University Avenue, which is under constant guard.

One resident near the guesthouse, speaking on condition of anonymity, said five people at a neighbouring home had been killed. Police declined to comment on casualties.

"Five people were killed by the gun shots -- a couple, their two daughters, and a maid," the resident told AFP.

Although Myanmar has been at civil war for about six decades, shootings in the nation's commercial hub are extremely rare.

Ordinary citizens are not allowed to own weapons, and firearms are strictly controlled by the regime.

Any sort of violence near Aung San Suu Kyi's home or the guesthouse is unusual because the area is under constant surveillance by authorities.