independent.ie– There were growing fears last night for the fate of anti-coup protesters caught up in a crackdown in Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon.
Western governments called on the military to refrain from violence against protesters amid concern about the fate of hundreds of activists surrounded by police in Yangon yesterday while protesting the February 1 military coup.
Over 200 people including women were trapped in the city’s Sanchaung Township after authorities locked the area down last night, triggering calls from the UN for their release.
Western embassies and the UN rights office said they were “deeply concerned” about the fate of the protesters and called on police to release them without reprisals.
The stand-off came after a day of protests in which at least three people were killed and soldiers started to occupy hospitals in a bid to suppress ongoing mass protests against the coup last month.
Witnesses reported sounds of gunfire or stun grenades in many districts of the commercial capital after nightfall on Sunday night, as soldiers set up camp in hospitals and university compounds, according to local media.
In one video uploaded to social media, repeated gun shots could be heard outside West Yangon’s General Hospital.
In separate footage, residents in other parts of the city responded defiantly to the army’s night operations by setting off fireworks and sarcastically shouting “Happy New Year”.
The International Physicians for Human Rights Group condemned the occupation of hospitals, saying that it was “appalled by the latest wave of violence by the Myanmar military, including the invasion and occupation of public hospitals and wanton excessive force against civilians”.
It said the military’s actions served to “further undermine a healthcare system already embattled by the pandemic” and the coup.
Police and military have killed more than 50 people to quell daily rallies, according to the UN last week, although the number is believed to be much higher.
