A man is being treated at a makeshift medical center in Mandalay, Myanmar, Feb. 28, 2021, after being shot by military police for injuries sustained during a demonstration against a military coup.
At least 18 people were killed on Sunday as military police across Myanmar fired live ammunition at protesters in a month of protests sparked by the military coup.
According to Reuters, the UN human rights office said that Sunday was the bloodiest day in the weeks of crackdown on protests across the country since the military coup. At least 18 people were killed on a day when military and police across Myanmar opened fire on protesters.
In Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, police not only opened fire on people taking part in the protests, but even military police threw grenades to disperse the demonstrators, the report said. A doctor, who asked not to be named, confirmed that a man was shot in the chest and died after being taken to the hospital.
Video images that have surfaced in the media show protesters dragging several injured people away, leaving a trail of blood on the sidewalk.
AFP, citing local media, reported that at least three people were killed and more than 20 injured as military police forcefully dispersed protesters in Dawei, a large city in southern Myanmar. Three protesters were also shot dead around Yangon, and countless others were treated in hospitals for injuries.
Myanmar political activist Kyaw Min Htike also confirmed to foreign media that military police in southern Myanmar towns have also opened fire on protesters, killing at least three people and injuring many others. Another source said that at least one person was killed during the protests in Mandalay.
Another Yahoo news site reported that medical personnel said at least five protesters were killed in Yangon, including Internet engineer Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, who had posted his concerns about the escalating police crackdown on Facebook the day before.
Police also threw grenades outside Yangon Medical College, shooting at doctors and students wearing white coats, the report said. More than 50 medical personnel have reportedly been arrested.
The Burmese military government, for its part, has claimed that one police officer died as a result of security duties.
The Myanmar military staged a military coup in early February, arresting Senior Minister of State Aung San Suu Kyi and several dignitaries from the National League for Democracy (NLD). Since then, people have been taking to the streets in several cities, including Yangon, to protest the coup. The Burmese military and police have escalated their crackdown on the protests, from using tear gas and water cannons to firing rubber bullets and live ammunition to suppress the protesters.
Aung San Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since she was taken away by the military in the capital Naypyidaw, which charged her with “possessing an unapproved walkie-talkie” and “violating Epidemic prevention regulations in a public place. The military said Aung San Suu Kyi will appear in court on Monday.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s defense lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, said in an interview with AFP that he had not been able to meet with her until now. He said, “As a lawyer, I trust the court, but in the meantime, anything can happen.”
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