YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – At least 33 protesters were killed on Wednesday by security forces in Myanmar, the highest number since a February 1 military coup, according to a compilation of local reports, while authorities and -extended lethal repression.
The data, mostly from local media and Facebook posts, was compiled by a data professional from Yangon, the country’s largest city. In many cases, it includes the names of the victims, their ages, their hometowns and where and how they were killed. The deaths included a 14-year-old boy.
The Associated Press failed to independently confirm most of the reported deaths, but a sample of online posts matched what was included in the compilation. The person who compiled the information asked to remain anonymous due to fears of reprisals from the military government. He said 18 people were killed in Yangon on Wednesday.
The highest total was on Sunday, when the UN Office for Human Rights reported 18 deaths nationwide, although other counts put it higher.
Videos from various locations on Wednesday showed security forces firing slingshots at protesters, chasing them and even brutally beating an ambulance crew.
Protesters have regularly flooded the streets of cities across the country since the military took power and ousted the elected government of leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Their numbers remained high even as security forces repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse the crowds and arrested the protesters en masse.
The intensifying confrontation is unfortunately familiar in the country, with a long history of peaceful resistance to military rule – and brutal repression. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian nation after five decades of military rule.
Security forces also arrested hundreds of people in protest, including journalists. At least eight journalists, including Thein Zaw of the Associated Press, were detained on Saturday. A video shows that he moved out of the road while the police charged on a street against the protesters, but then he was confiscated by the police officers, who handcuffed him and held him briefly in a suffocation before removing him.
He was accused of violating a public safety law that could see him imprisoned for up to three years.
The escalation of repression has led to increased diplomatic efforts to resolve the political crisis in Myanmar – but there seem to be few viable options.
The UN Security Council is expected to hold a closed session on the situation on Friday, council diplomats said on condition of anonymity, as they were not allowed to provide the information before the official announcement. Britain requested the meeting, they said.
However, any coordinated action at the United Nations will be difficult, as two permanent members of the Security Council, China and Russia, would almost certainly have a veto. Some countries have imposed or intend to impose their own sanctions.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, held a teleconference meeting of foreign ministers on Tuesday to discuss the crisis.
But even there the action is unlikely. The regional group of 10 nations has a tradition of not intervening in each other’s internal affairs. A statement by the president after the meeting only called for an end to the violence and talks on how to reach a peaceful agreement.
Ignoring the call, Myanmar security forces continued to attack peaceful protesters on Wednesday.
Details of crackdowns and victims are difficult to confirm independently, especially those occurring outside larger cities. But reports of most of the assaults have been consistent on social media and in the local press, and they usually have videos and photos to support them. It is also likely that many attacks in remote areas will not be reported.
In Yangon, a video taken from a security camera showed city police brutally beating members of an ambulance crew – apparently after they were arrested. Police can be seen kicking the three crew members and throwing rifle butts at them.
Security forces are believed to be identifying medical workers for arrest and ill-treatment, as members of the medical profession have launched the country’s civil disobedience movement to resist the junta.
The data compiler said the second highest total death toll was in the central city of Monywa, which turned out to be a huge crowd, with eight deaths reported.
Two deaths have been reported in Salin, a town in the Magwe region on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River, and in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.
Mawlamyine in the southeast and Myingyan and Kalay, both in central Myanmar, reported one death.
In Mandalay, photos posted on social media showed a university student peacefully participating in a protest, and later showed her seemingly lifeless, with a head injury. Social media accounts said that a man was also killed.
The riot police in the city, supported by soldiers, broke up a rally and drove about 1,000 teachers and students from a street with tear gas, because gunshots were heard.
The video from the Associated Press showed a team of policemen pulling their slingshots in the apparent direction of the protesters as they dispersed.
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This story has been updated to correct the fact that there was a report of one death in Myingyan, not two.