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MANDALAY, Myanmar: Security forces in Myanmar on Saturday (March 13) again faced protests against last month’s military takeover with lethal force, killing at least four people by shooting live ammunition at protesters.
Three deaths were reported in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, and one in Pyay, a city in south-central Myanmar. There were multiple reports on social media of the deaths, along with photos of people killed and injured at both locations.
The United Nations’ independent human rights expert for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said Thursday that “credible reports” indicated that security forces in the country had so far killed at least 70 people, citing increasing evidence of crimes against humanity since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Anti-coup protesters flee when police security forces try to disperse them with tear gas in Mandalay on Saturday, March 13, 2021 (Photo: AP).
Anti-coup protesters maintain their position as police security forces attempt to disperse them with tear gas, which protesters countered with steam from fire extinguishers, in Mandalay on Saturday, March 13, 2021. (Photo: AP)
Reports on social media also said that three people were shot and killed on Friday night in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, where residents for the past week have been defying the 8 p.m. curfew to get out. to the streets.
Two shooting deaths were reported in Thaketa Township in Yangon, where a protest taking place outside a police station was dispersed.
A crowd had gathered there to demand the release of three young men who were abducted from their home on Friday night.
Photos allegedly of the bodies of two dead protesters were posted online.
The other death reported Friday night was that of a 19-year-old man shot in Hlaing Township.
Nighttime protests may reflect a more aggressive approach to self-defense that has been advocated by some protesters.
Police had been aggressively patrolling residential neighborhoods at night, firing into the air and throwing stun grenades in an intimidation effort.
They have also been conducting targeted raids, pulling people out of their homes with minimal resistance. In at least two known cases, detainees died in custody within hours of being taken away.
Anti-coup protesters shout slogans and hold up photos of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest in Yangon on Saturday, March 13, 2021 (Photo: AP).
Protesters raise their hands with clenched fists during an anti-coup rally in Mandalay on Saturday, March 13, 2021 (Photo: AP).
Another possible indication of increased resistance emerged on Saturday with photos posted online of a railway bridge said to have been damaged by an explosive charge.
The bridge was described in multiple versions as on the railway line from Mandalay to Myitkyina, the capital of the northern state of Kachin. The photos show damage to part of a concrete support.
No one took responsibility for the action, but it could serve a dual purpose.
It could be seen as support for the national strike by the state railroad workers, who are part of the civil disobedience movement against the coup.
At the same time, it could be aimed at disrupting the junta’s ability to reinforce its troops in Kachin, a state whose residents have long been at odds with the central government.
The Kachin ethnic minority has its own well-trained and equipped guerrilla force, and there has been outrage in Myitkyina over the killing of anti-coup protesters by the security forces.
Some protesters have openly debated the possibility of sabotage, warning that they could blow up a pipeline supplying natural gas to China. They see China as the main supporter of the junta, even though Beijing has been mildly critical of the coup in its public comments.
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In Washington on Friday, the Biden administration announced that it is offering temporary legal residency to people from Myanmar, citing the takeover of power by the military and the ongoing lethal force against civilians.
National Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the designation of temporary protected status for the people of Myanmar would last 18 months.
The temporary legal residence offer applies to people already in the United States. Mayorkas said in a statement that worsening conditions in Myanmar would make it difficult for those people to return home safely.
The February 1 coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades had languished under a strict military regime that led to isolation and international sanctions.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party led the return to civilian rule with a landslide election victory in 2015 and an even larger vote margin last year.
The NLD was reportedly installed for a second five-year term last month, but instead Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other members of the government were placed in military detention.
