YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Myanmar security forces shot and killed at least eight people on Wednesday, according to social media and local news accounts, as authorities extended their lethal crackdown on protests against the coup. last month.
Videos from various locations showed security forces slammed into protesters, chasing and even brutally beating an ambulance crew.
Protesters have regularly flooded the streets of cities across the country since the military seized power on February 1 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.
According to the UN Office for Human Rights, security forces killed at least 18 protesters on Sunday. On Wednesday, another 8 deaths were reported in four different cities, including a 14-year-old boy.
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, the country’s largest city, which has seen some of the largest protests, three people have been killed, according to Burma’s Democratic Voice, an independent television and online news service. The deaths were also mentioned on Twitter, where some photos of the bodies were posted.
In addition, a broadcast 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.
In Mandalay, the second largest city in the country, two people were reportedly shot. The photos posted on social networks showed a university student who participated peacefully in the 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.
In the central city of Monywa, which turned out to be a huge crowd, three people were shot on Wednesday, including one in the head, Burma’s Democratic Voice reported. Reports on social media said two died.
In Myingyan, in the same central region, several social media posts reported the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy. The photos, which were said to belong to his body, showed his head and chest soaked in blood while he was being worn by fellow protesters.
A live fire has also reported injuries in Magwe, also in central Myanmar; in the northern city of Hpakant; and in Pyinoolwin, a city in central Myanmar better known to many as its British colonial name, Maymyo.
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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.