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Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
Yangon Street, the largest city in Myanmar, continue to be crowded with vehicles that pass by busy. There is not much activity due to urban activities, but most of the people are busy leaving the city to avoid the brutality of the security forces since the military coup took place on February 1.
The political crisis in Myanmar is of increasing concern to the international community. The United Nations (UN) reports that more than 220 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and anti-junta military protesters since the coup took place.
Several Myanmar human rights groups also said that the authorities had detained more than 2,000 people.
The civil uprising against the military junta that is spreading across Myanmar has also led the security forces to act more and more brutally against protesters.
On Friday (3/19), local media showed traffic congestion on the main road north of Yangon. The congestion was caused by people wanting to flee the city to rural areas that were considered safer.
“I no longer feel safe and secure. Some nights I can’t sleep,” said a resident near one of the districts where security forces killed protesters this week. AFP.
“I am very worried that the worst will happen next because where I live the riots are very intense, the security forces take people off the streets,” he said.
A group of women in Yangon also said that they had bought bus tickets to return to their places of origin in western Myanmar.
A 29-year-old goldsmith even said that he had left Yangon this week for fear of being beaten up by the increasingly brutal actions of the authorities.
“It is too sad to bear. After arriving here at my house, I feel much more relieved and confident,” said the man.
Not only are they escaping outside of Yangon, some Myanmar citizens are also determined to flee abroad in search of safety.
The provincial government of Tak, Thailand, which directly borders Myanmar, explained that it has prepared shelters to anticipate the arrival of refugees.
“If many people from Myanmar cross the border due to an urgent case, we have prepared steps to receive them,” said the governor of Tak province, Pongrat Piromrat.
Pongrat said his province could host between 30,000 and 50,000 refugees from Myanmar.
Apart from Thailand, a group of Myanmar citizens have even fled to India. Some of them were even reported to be police officers on the run because they refused to serve on the military junta.
Before the military coup took place, up to 90,000 refugees from Myanmar also lived along the borders of the Southeast Asian country. They live on the border while fleeing a decades-long civil war between the army and armed ethnic groups.
(rds / dea)
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