Burma police made mass arrests in anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday and reportedly killed at least two protesters in the fourth week of unrest since a military attack on February 1.
The bloodshed came when the military began to suppress protests that continued throughout the month after elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested along with President Win Myint and most members of the Suu Kyi administration in a military coup. .
Some reports say that two protesters were killed in Yangon and Dawei after the police fired on the protesters, while other reports claim that at least three people were killed in Yangon.
The number of fatalities could not be independently confirmed, the Associated Press reported. Confirming reports of protesters’ deaths has been difficult amid chaos and a general lack of official news.
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Police in Yangon, the country’s most populous city, fired tear gas and water cannons while trying to clear the streets of protesters. There were also reports of gunfire by the police, evidenced by photos of live ammunition cartridges used in assault rifles that were posted on social media.
Protesters shout slogans as the police arrive during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar, Sunday, February 28, 2021. (Associated Press)
Thousands took to the streets, demanding that Suu Kyi be restored to power, challenging the military’s false allegations of fraud in its crushing victory for a second five-year term.
Sunday’s violence broke out early in the morning, as medical students marched on the streets of Yangon near the intersection of the Hledan Center, which became the meeting point for protesters who then spread to other parts of the city.
Videos and photos showed protesters fleeing as the police attacked them and residents set up makeshift barriers to slow their advance. Nearby, residents begged the police to release those who picked up on the street and threw in police trucks to be taken away. Dozens or more are believed to have been detained.
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The police resorted to tougher preventive actions and dozens to hundreds of arrests to suppress dissent and many were taken to Insein prison on the northern outskirts of Yangon, historically famous for holding political prisoners.
According to the Independent Political Prisoners Assistance Association, as of Saturday, 854 people have been arrested, charged or convicted at some point in connection with the coup, and 771 were being detained or sought for imprisonment. The group said that although it had documented 75 new arrests, it understood that hundreds of others were also arrested on Saturday in Yangon and elsewhere.
The government also fired its ambassador to the United Nations on Saturday night for condemning the coup – or, as the military called it, “betraying” the country.
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Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun in New York City on Friday said he represented Suu Kyi’s “civilian government elected by the people” and supported anti-coup protests. He urged other counties to condemn the coup.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.