Myanmar’s Internet was shut down overnight on Sunday, hours after armored vehicles arrived in several cities, raising fears about the fate of protesters and warnings from diplomats that “the world is watching”.
Armored cars appeared on the streets of Yangon, Myitkyina and Sittwe on Sunday, according to a video streamed online by local media, in the heaviest display of force by the military so far since a February 1 coup.
The United States embassy in Myanmar on Sunday night warned of “military movements” in the country’s main city, Yangon, and said it expected interruptions to internet access.
At around 1:30 am, the Netblocks internet monitoring service reported that national internet connectivity had dropped to 14% from normal levels. Myanmar contacts could not be found by email or messaging apps.
The United States embassy asked its citizens to “shelter in place” on Sunday night, local time, after three armored vehicles were sighted in the city for the first time since the military coup.
The embassy also said there was a “possibility of interruptions in telecommunications during the night, between 1 am and 9 am” (from 6:30 pm to 2:30 am GMT).
Unverified images and video images posted on social media also appeared to show military trucks carrying troops on the streets of Yangon.
A group of ambassadors in Myanmar, including EU, US, UK and Canadian envoys, issued a statement late on Sunday expressing concerns about the closure and a wave of arrests of activists, public officials and political leaders last week.
“We ask security forces to avoid violence against demonstrators and civilians, who are protesting the overthrow of their legitimate government,” the statement said.
“We support the people of Myanmar in their quest for democracy, freedom, peace and prosperity. The world is watching. “
The internet was blocked last Saturday while the protest movement was taking shape, but it was restored after 24 hours.
Protesters, mostly young people, used the internet to organize, document their protests and capture the police response, including firing rubber bullets at crowds and, in some cases, using live ammunition.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Myanmar’s largest cities for the ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday.
Military officials also face a strike by government officials, part of a civil disobedience campaign against the coup that deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
Soldiers were sent to power plants in northern Kachin state, leading to clashes with protesters, some of whom said they believed the army intended to cut electricity.
Security forces fired to disperse protesters outside a factory in the state capital of Kachin, Myitkyina, showed footage broadcast live on Facebook, although it is unclear whether they were using rubber bullets or live shots.
Two journalists from The 74 Media, which broadcast live from the fighting site, were arrested along with three other journalists, the news agency said in a Facebook post.
Many of the protesters across the country displayed images of Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s face. His detention, on charges of importing walkie-talkies, is expected to expire on Monday. His lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, was not immediately available for comment.
More than 384 people have been detained since the coup, the monitoring group Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners said, in a wave of overnight arrests.
“While the international community condemns the coup, Min Aung Hlaing uses all the tools at his disposal to instigate fears and instabilities,” said activist Wai Hnin Pwint Thon of the UK-based human rights group Burma Campaign UK on Twitter. , referring to the head of the army.
Many protesters in Yangon carried signs asking authorities to “stop kidnapping people at night”.