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At least 18 reported dead, multiple injured as Myanmar continues crackdown on anti-coup protests
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... office said. Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police. Several maimed people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. One man died after being brought to a hospital with a bullet in the chest, said a doctor who asked not to be identified. "Police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that — according to credible information received by the UN Human Rights Office — has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 maimed," the U.N. human rights office said. Police also hurled stun grenades outside a Yangon medical school, sending doctors and students in white lab coats scattering. A group called the Whitecoat Alliance of medics said more than 50 medical staff had been arrested. Three people were killed at Dawei in the south, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Rooters from the town. Two died in the second city of Mandalay, Myanmar Now media and a resident said. Resident Sai Tun told Rooters one woman was shot in the head. Police and the front man for the ruling military council did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. Police broke up protests in other towns, including Lashio in the northeast, Myeik in the deep south and Hpa-An in the east, residents and media said. State-run MRTV television said more than 470 people had been arrested on Saturday. It was not clear how many were detained on Sunday. A day after the junta announced that Myanmar's U.N. envoy had been fired for opposing its rule by calling for action from the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... , the foreign ministry announced that diplomats at several other embassies were being recalled. It gave no reason, but some diplomats have been among civil servants to join a Civil Disobedience Movement that has paralysed a swathe of official business. Related: Myanmar: 2021-02-28 Myanmar police launch most extensive crackdown; hundreds arrested Myanmar: 2021-02-27 Myanmar protesters injured as police escalate use of force Myanmar: 2021-02-24 Myanmar junta warns protesters could die, but more rallies Posted by: Fred 2021-03-01 |
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