A nation has been plunged in utter chaos overnight as police and soldiers cracked down on civilians with bullets and tear gas.
At least 18 people have been killed and dozens wounded across Myanmar in the most violent crackdown on the nation’s pro-democracy protesters since the military took over the nation a month ago.The junta is battling to contain a massive street movement demanding it yield power and release ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with top political allies on February 1.
Sunday brought a significant escalation in force, with fatal shootings of protesters in at least four cities around the country, as police and soldiers attempted to bring the civil disobedience campaign to heel.
Shocking photos have been posted on social media of the crackdown, some too graphic to be published.
Internet network engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet was shot dead at a demonstration in Yangon. Picture: Poppy McPhersonSource:Twitter
Police point a gun at a person in Myanmar. Picture: Linn Tun OakeSource:Twitter
BRUTAL CRACKDOWN
The United Nations condemned the deadly crackdown, saying it had received credible information that as many as 18 people may have been killed.
At least 18 people were killed in Sunday’s violence. Picture: Hkun Lat/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
A policeman points a weapon at people during the crackdown. Picture; Mizzima NewsSource:Twitter
“We strongly condemn the escalating violence against protests in Myanmar and call on the military to immediately halt the use of force against peaceful protesters,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, said.
AFP could not independently confirm the UN toll.
We condemn the Burmese security forces’ abhorrent violence against the people of Burma & will continue to promote accountability for those responsible. We stand firmly with the courageous people of Burma & encourage all countries to speak with one voice in support of their will.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 28, 2021
ARMY USING LIVE ROUNDS
Three men were killed and at least 20 others injured when security forces moved on a rally in the southern coastal hub of Dawei.
Rescue worker Pyae Zaw Hein said the trio were “shot dead with live rounds”, while the injured were hit by rubber bullets.
An elderly man shows off a gunshot wound. Picture: Ei Thandar LinSource:Twitter
A shot man is seen on the street. Picture: TwitterSource:Twitter
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“More wounded people keep coming in,” he told AFP.
Two teenagers were gunned down in Bago, a two-hour drive north of commercial capital Yangon.
Ambulance driver Than Lwin Oo told AFP he had sent the bodies of the 18-year-olds to the mortuary at Bago’s main hospital.
Officers in Yangon began dispersing small crowds minutes before the slated beginning of the day’s protest, with a 23-year-old man shot dead in the city’s east.
Live rounds have been used on protesters. Picture: Handout / Dawei Watch / AFPSource:AFP
“His wife is heartbroken,” Win Ko, a social worker who visited the man’s widow, told AFP. “She’s three months pregnant.” In Mandalay, an emergency doctor told AFP that two men had died from gunshot wounds.
Elsewhere protesters took up positions behind barricades and wielded homemade shields to defend themselves against the onslaught, with police using tear gas to clear some rallies.
Hundreds of people had been arrested by evening and transported to the city’s notorious Insein Prison, where many of Myanmar’s leading democracy campaigners have served long jail terms under previous dictatorships.
CALLS FOR AUSTRALIA TO ACT
There are now calls for the Australian government to provide asylum to temporary visa holders from Myanmar.
Sophia Sarkis told the ABC that the military coup was putting returning citizens in grave danger.
“The military government is already tracking activities that are happening overseas. They already have a list of names and I heard that I’m actually one of them, on the blacklist,” she said.
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At least one journalist documenting Sunday’s assaults by security forces was beaten and detained further north in Myitkyina, a city at the headwaters of the Irrawaddy river, according to local outlet The 74 Media.
Another reporter was shot with rubber bullets while covering a protest in the central city of Pyay, their employer said.
A spokesman for the ruling junta did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on Sunday’s violence.
Before Sunday, at least five people had died in anti-coup unrest since the army takeover, including three killed on February 20.
One police officer also died while attempting to quell a protest, the military has said.
WEEKS OF UNREST
Myanmar has been roiled by giant demonstrations and a civil disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to walk off the job since the February 1 military takeover.
Sunday’s crackdown followed a similar wave of violent action against angry but largely peaceful anti-coup rallies around the country a day earlier.
Several journalists documenting Saturday’s assaults by security forces were detained, including an Associated Press photographer in Yangon.
Protests have been growing in size since February 1. Picture: Ye Aung THU / AFPSource:AFP
Human Rights Watch said medical volunteers helping to treat wounded protesters were also being targeted for arrest by security forces.
More than 850 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
But the weekend crackdown was expected to raise that number dramatically, with state newspapers reporting 479 arrests on Saturday alone.
International condemnation of the military regime has been fierce, with the United States, European Union and others denouncing violence against protesters.
“We are heartbroken to see the loss of so many lives in Myanmar. People should not face violence for expressing dissent against the military coup. Targeting of civilians is abhorrent,” the US Embassy in Yangon tweeted.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the crackdown and said, “the use of lethal force against peaceful protesters and arbitrary arrests are unacceptable.” The UN’s special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said that as the junta grows tougher with dissent, the international community must “ratchet up its response.” Options include a global arms embargo against Myanmar; tough, targeted and co-ordinated sanctions against those behind the coup or the crackdown; and sanctions against business interests controlled by the junta, Andrews tweeted.
‘ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN’
Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since she was taken into custody during pre-dawn raids in the capital Naypyidaw.
A court hearing will be held on Monday for the ousted leader, who faces obscure charges for possession of unregistered walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions on public gatherings.
The protests have even spread overseas, with gatherings in Thailand lover the weekend. Picture: Jack Taylor / AFPSource:AFP
But her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP he had still been unable to meet with Suu Kyi ahead of the hearing.
“As a lawyer, I put my trust in the court,” he said. “But in this period of time anything can happen.” State media announced Saturday that the junta had sacked the country’s United Nations envoy, who gave an impassioned plea for help on behalf of Myanmar’s ousted civilian government.