YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar’s governing board declared martial law in parts of the country’s largest city as security forces killed more demonstrators in an increasingly lethal crackdown on resistance to last month’s military coup.
At least 38 people were killed on Sunday and dozens were injured in one of the deadliest days of repression, according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners, an independent group that tracks the number of victims of violence.
Most of the dead – 34 – were in Yangon, where two districts, Hlaing Thar Yar and neighboring Shwepyitha, were placed under martial law.
Video from Hlaing Thar Yar municipality showed people fleeing after shots were heard. Those fleeing carried a wounded man and tried to resuscitate two others, one who appeared to be dead or dying, showed the independent footage from the Democratic Voice of Burma.
Hlaing Thar Yar was the site of 22 civilians killed on Sunday, according to the aid group, which said more than a dozen civilians were wounded and described a large number of junta forces engaged in the municipality.
Since the acquisition, six weeks ago, Myanmar has been in a state of emergency across the country, with its deposed and detained civilian leaders and military leaders in charge of the entire government. But the announcement on the state broadcaster MRTV on Sunday night appeared to be the first use of the term martial law since the coup and suggested more direct military control of security, rather than the local police.
The announcement said the State Administrative Council had acted to increase security and restore law and order and said the Yangon regional commander had been given administrative, judicial and military powers in the area under his command.
Four other deaths have been reported in Bago, Mandalay and the town of Hpakant, in the northern state of Kachin, according to the aid group and local media.
In Yangon, a video posted on social media showed crowds of people, some wearing helmets and gas masks, running down a street amid the sounds of gunshots. Protesters quickly spread steam from fire extinguishers as they withdrew – a tactic widely used to smother tear gas and create a vapor screen that makes it harder for police to chase or shoot demonstrators.
There have also been reports of injuries from rubber bullets and gunshots in other parts of Yangon, including the Insein district, where waves of black smoke could be seen after security forces allegedly set road blocks on fire.
In a new tactic, anti-coup protesters used the cover of darkness to conduct mass candlelight vigils on Saturday and Sunday nights in a commercial area in Yangon, which was usually the scene of their daytime protests. After dark, rallies were also held in Mandalay and elsewhere.
The protest movement was based on non-violent civil disobedience from the beginning, with general marches and strikes among its main characteristics. But some protesters have advocated stronger and more agile methods of self-defense – such as holding small rallies that are quick to disperse and gather, and inventing a cover for fire extinguishers and clean clothes.
On Saturday, the hidden civilian leader of the government of Myanmar promised to continue supporting a “revolution” to oust the military leaders who took power in the February 1 coup. Mahn Win Khaing Than, who was appointed acting vice president by the ousted legislators of Myanmar and is a member of the political party of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, addressed the public for the first time since the coup.
“This is the darkest moment in the nation and the moment when dawn is near,” he said in a video posted on the shadow government website and on social media.
“To form a federal democracy, which all the ethnic brothers who have been suffering from various types of oppression from the dictatorship for decades really wanted, this revolution is the chance for us to join our efforts,” he said.
He added: “We will never give up on an unjust military, but we will sculpt our future together with our united power. Our mission must be accomplished. ”
At the end of the message, he offered the three-finger salute that became a symbol of resistance to military rulers.
Counting the victims of the humanitarian aid group on Sunday appeared to increase by more than 100 the number of civilians killed by security forces since the coup. Confirmation is almost impossible in the country due to the security situation and the crackdown on independent media, but several groups have carefully compiled numbers with similar numbers.
The actual death toll is probably higher, as the police apparently seized some bodies and some victims had serious gunshot wounds that medical staff at makeshift clinics would have difficulty treating. Many hospitals are occupied by security forces and, as a result, are boycotted by medical teams and avoided by protesters.
The police also aggressively patrolled residential neighborhoods at night, firing into the air and throwing stun grenades as an intimidation tactic. They also removed people from their homes in targeted attacks with minimal resistance. In at least two known cases, detainees died in custody within hours of being taken away.