YANGON: At least 18 anti-coup protesters were killed on Sunday (Mar 14) in one of the deadliest days since Myanmar was thrust back under military rule.
In Yangon's massive Hlaing Tharyar township, police and soldiers faced off against protesters wielding sticks and knives as they hid behind makeshift barricades, fleeing after the security forces opened fire.
Protesters - using cut-out trash cans as shields - managed to retrieve the injured, but a doctor said not all could be reached.
"I can confirm 15 have died," the doctor told AFP, adding that she had treated about 50 people with injuries and expects the death toll to climb.
"I cannot talk much - injured people keep coming," she said before hanging up.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group - which verifies arrests and fatalities since the coup - confirmed a higher death toll.
Myanmar state television MRTV said late on Sunday that martial law has been imposed in Hlaing Tharyar district.
Throughout the day, gunshots were heard continuously by residents hiding in their homes as smoke rose above the streets, while military trucks were sighted driving through Hlaing Tharyar's streets.
READ: Myanmar’s UN ambassador urges stronger international response, vows to continue to ‘fight back’ against the junta
State-run media on Sunday evening did not elaborate on the violence, but said five factories in the garment-producing township had been razed.
Among the burned buildings were Chinese-owned factories, said China's embassy in Myanmar, condemning the actions of the "destroyers" in a statement posted on their official Facebook.
"The Chinese embassy ... quickly urged local police to guarantee the security of Chinese businesses and personnel with effective management," it said.
"China urges Myanmar to tackle an effective plan by stopping all violence."
The evening news also confirmed another death in Tamwe township, saying that hundreds of protesters attempted to torch a police station, which caused authorities to open fire to disperse them.
Similar scenes of chaos unfolded throughout the day in other parts of Myanmar - with one shot dead in the northern Hpakant city and another woman killed from a headshot in Mandalay.
READ: Myanmar military likely behind 'crimes against humanity': UN expert
Despite the daily bloodshed, those in the anti-coup movement remain defiant, and have hardened in recent weeks.
"I've seen the fallen heroes give their lives," said 21-year-old Ma Khine Lay, admitting she was afraid even as she rebuilt barricades out of bricks and bamboo poles in a Yangon township.
"I will fight until the end."
Mahn Win Khaing Than, the acting leader of Myanmar's parallel civilian government, addressed the public via Facebook on Saturday, saying: "This is the darkest moment of the nation and the moment that the dawn is close."
He is on the run along with most senior officials from the ruling National League for Democracy Party. He said the civilian government would "attempt to legislate the required laws so that the people have the right to defend themselves" against the military crackdown.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy9hc2lhL215YW5tYXItcHJvdGVzdHMtNS1raWxsZWQtZGVhdGgtdG9sbC1tb3VudHMtbWFyLTE0LTE0NDA0Mzc20gEA?oc=5
2021-03-14 16:24:29Z
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