Myanmar’s military fires on protesters at least five journalists are arrested February 14, 2021, in Yangon, where people gather around an armored vehicle on a city street after days of mass protests against a military coup.
Hundreds of thousands of people across Myanmar took to the streets again to protest on Feb. 14, local Time. At least five journalists were arrested as the Burmese military opened fire on the protesters.
Since the coup by the Burmese military, people have continued to hold mass protests against the military’s seizure of power, demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected government officials.
The military fired tear gas at protesters and opened fire on demonstrators at a power plant in Myitkyina, Kachin state, in northern Burma on April 14. Some protesters said they believed the military might cut off electricity.
According to a live Facebook video, Burmese soldiers opened fire to disperse the protesters, and it is unclear whether the soldiers used rubber bullets or live ammunition. Five journalists who were at the scene for the live broadcast were reportedly arrested.
That night, the military deployed a large number of soldiers in Yangon, and armored vehicles were present on the streets of Yangon.
A monk stands next to an armored vehicle holding a protest sign against military violence on the streets of Yangon on Feb. 14.
The U.S. Embassy in Yangon warned of possible large-scale military action by the military and the possibility of Internet disruptions between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m. on the 14th. U.S. citizens in Burma are also reminded to stay inside safe havens during curfew hours.
NetBlocks, an Internet tracking organization, tweeted that Myanmar experienced its third nationwide Internet outage in the early morning hours of the 14th, leaving the country with only 14 percent of its usual connectivity.
Armored vehicles were on the streets of Yangon, Myitkyina city and Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, in the early evening of the day, the first large-scale deployment of armored vehicles across the country since the military coup.
Since the military coup, Myanmar government civil servants, civil aviation, railroads and hospitals from all walks of Life have been involved in strikes and other protests. A pilot, who asked not to be named, said hundreds of civil aviation workers were on strike and soldiers surrounded Yangon International Airport late on the night of the 14th.
The civil aviation ministry said in a statement that there was no news of four air traffic controllers after they were detained.
Trains stopped running in some parts of Myanmar because of the staff strike. The junta ordered civil servants back to work, threatening action.
So far, the military has arrested hundreds of protesters, and the junta also granted military personnel the power to detain and search private property on the 13th.
Richard Horsey, a Crisis Group analyst in Myanmar, said many government departments have effectively shut down. “This could affect important functions – the military can replace engineers and doctors, but not grid managers and central banks.”
In the evening of the 14th, embassies from more than a dozen countries, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada, issued a joint statement calling on the Burmese military to refrain from using violence to suppress protesters and civilians.
The military’s detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is set to expire on Monday (15), to which military leader Min Aung Hlaing has yet to respond specifically.
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