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Myanmar soldiers brought weapons to patrol and helped police break up protesters in Yangon on February 28 – Photo: REUTERS
The Reuters news agency said February 28 has become the bloodiest day in the days when protests against the coup were suppressed and forcibly dispersed.
Police were present early in many places in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. Initially, the shots were intended to dissolve, the police, with the support of the military, then fired their weapons directly at the crowd of protesters. The stun grenade and tear gas were also used to divide the crowd, but failed.
Photos shared on social media and some media showed bloodstains on the Yangon pavement. A doctor in Yangon who asked to remain anonymous said a man died when he was taken to hospital with a bullet stuck in his chest.
According to witnesses’ descriptions, the police also threw stun grenades at teachers and students gathered outside a medical school in Yangon. At least 50 people were arrested after the incident.
Before that, another demonstration by the Yangon teacher also ended in chaos when the police fired tear gas, killing one person from a heart attack.
Kyaw Min Htike, a Myanmar politician, told Reuters that police opened fire and killed at least three people in the southern Myanmar city of Dawei. Two other deaths were also recorded in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, according to Myanmar Now.
A protester in Yangon was arrested by police on February 28 – Photo: REUTERS
The AFP news agency quoted private sources as saying that live ammunition was used and was the cause of the death of 6 protesters. Many people were injured after receiving rubber bullets from the police.
Myanmar police and military authorities did not comment prior to the above information. The police had previously announced that one of its members had been killed when confronted with the protesters.
The protests against the coup showed signs of a strong upsurge after Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, spoke.
In his February 26 speech, Mr. Kyaw Moe Tun called on the world to stop the Myanmar army, restore the democratically elected government and put an end to the army’s acts of repression of the people.
The Myanmar ambassador ended his speech by raising three fingers, a symbol of protest against the coup that appeared in most demonstrations in Myanmar. His actions Kyaw Moe Tun “fueled” the domestic movement, where he was hailed as a hero.
Why do the people of Myanmar hold up three fingers when protesting?
