Protesters with placards with the image of detained Suu Kyi sit along a street before holding a candlelight
vigil during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon.
YANGON: At least three people were killed when demonstrators took to the streets again across Myanmar yesterday, after a deadly overnight crackdown as hundreds defied a curfew to hold vigils in honour of those killed since the military seized power.
The junta has deployed increasing force against daily protests since the Feb 1 coup, with more than 70 people killed according to the UN’s top rights expert on the country.
But hundreds of thousands have continued to gather across the country to call for the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi – who was detained in the Feb 1 putsch – and a return to democracy.
Saturday brought early crackdowns by security forces in Myanmar’s second largest city Mandalay, which saw more than 20 injured, including a monk.
A protester, who was shot with live rounds during a demonstration against the military coup, receives medical attention at a makeshift medical centre in Mandalay. — AFP photos
At least three were killed, including a 21-year-old, according to an AFP reporter and a doctor on the scene.
The sister of Saw Pyae Naing sobbed as she uncovered her brother’s body and gently touched his face at a makeshift medical centre.
Further south along the Irrawady river, protesters in Pyay wearing hard hats and carrying homemade shields attempted to hold off authorities as they retrieved an injured man.
“Come! Come and protect with the shields!” they yelled as they carried a slumped bleeding man to safety.
The fresh violence against protesters comes after three people were killed overnight in commercial hub Yangon.
Footage shared on social media late Friday and verified by AFP showed police pulling three residents out on the streets of Thaketa township, beating them on the head and hauling them away.
Angry residents went to the police station to protest, and sounds of gunshots were heard hours later in the township, including by an AFP reporter.
“Security forces arrested three young men, and as we followed to get them back, they cracked down on us,” recounted a resident, requesting anonymity.
“Two were killed – with one shot in his head and another one hit with a shot that penetrated his cheek to the neck,” he said, adding that they had to wait until the police stopped shooting to retrieve the bodies.
One of the deceased was 37-year-old rickshaw driver Si Thu, a staunch supporter of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
His body, displayed outside his home yesterday as part of a traditional mourning process, was covered with the NLD flag.
Across town in Hlaing township, residents alarmed at the presence of police and soldiers in their neighbourhood left their homes on Friday night to protest, fearful they were going to make arrests.
“We wanted to drive them out,” one told AFP on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions, adding that residents deployed Molotov cocktails against security forces.
“Police and soldiers used stun grenades to disperse us,” he said.
His account was confirmed by another resident, while AFP-verified footage shared on social media showed residents hiding behind cars as loud bangs could be heard before they retrieved a bleeding man shot in the head.
Before the violence, hundreds defied a nightly 8pm curfew to hold candlelight vigils across the country, from the northern jade-producing city of Hpakant to the southern coastal hub of Myeik.
Near Yangon’s Hledan junction – which has for weeks been a hotspot for unrest – protesters carrying posters of Suu Kyi sat and prayed, holding their candles in the air to mourn those killed in anti-coup demonstrations.
“People were so fearful to go out after 8pm…so when that call comes out, it’s powerful,” activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told AFP.
A community leader connected to the ousted NLD government, Zaw Myat Linn, died Tuesday during interrogation following his arrest, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
But state-run media yesterday said he ‘jumped’ from a house and fell on a steel pipe, warning of severe action against those who describe his death in other ways.
The military has denied responsibility for loss of life in the protests, and defended seizing power by alleging widespread electoral fraud in November’s election, which Suu Kyi’s party won in a landslide. — AFP