Police officers arrive at a demonstration of protesters against the military coup in Yangon on April 12, 2021.
Security forces fired on pro-democracy protesters in Mandalay (Wa), Burma’s second largest city, on April 15, as a number of shootings in neighboring areas left one man dead and many others injured.
The BBC’s Burmese service reported that medics gathered in Mandalay early this morning, some of whom had been on the front line of the anti-coup operation, but the military quickly arrived to disperse them, firing shots and taking some into custody.
The report did not have details on the number of people killed or injured at the protest or the number of people arrested. It is reported that among those arrested by the authorities were journalists identified as Ajax and Christopher of the Myitkyina News Journal.
Separately, Khit Thit Media noted that a man was shot dead in the compound of a nearby mosque as security forces dispersed a protest by medical staff.
A picture posted on social media Twitter showed a monk holding a man who had been shot, with two others assisting. The man later died, social media reported, citing the Mandalay-based Friday Times.
Mandalay-based Friday Times Journal confirmed that this brother passed away. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #Apr15Coup #MilkTeaAlliance https://t.co/I5ZNN4Zvss
- Ro Nay San Lwin (@nslwin) April 15, 2021
Burma’s state-run newspaper reported on April 14 that at least 19 physicians have been charged with crimes by the country’s ruling military government for their participation in civil disobedience protests.
Myanmar’s annual Buddhist festival, the New Year’s Water Festival, which runs from the 13th to the 16th, is traditionally celebrated with lively water fights in the streets, but this year pro-democracy activists cancelled the usual celebrations to focus on opposing the generals who seized power amid a crackdown on demonstrations by the military government.
Pictured, a combination of photos from April 14, 2021, show (top) revelers taking part in celebrations to mark the start of the Buddhist New Year, or Bhagavan as it is locally known, by the Sule Pagoda in Yangon on April 14, 2017; (bottom) security forces continue their all-out crackdown on demonstrations against the military coup in the same area on April 14, 2021, the day after the Bhagavan in Yangon. (YE AUNG THU/AFP via Getty Images)
At least 714 people, including 50 children, have been killed in a crackdown by security officials as the Burmese government responds to anti-coup demonstrations with violence. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned on 13 March that the situation in Myanmar threatens to turn into a Syrian-style “all-out conflict” and called on countries to take immediate action to pressure the Burmese military to stop cracking down on people.
The civil war in Syria over the past 10 years has claimed nearly 400,000 lives and forced more than 6 million people to flee their homeland.
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