Myanmar unrest: Deadly crackdown in response to protests, general strike

Two protesters have been killed as anti-coup rallies continue across Myanmar amid calls for a general strike and as the military junta ramps up night raids to arrest rally organizers.

According to Press V, in its latest move to consolidate power, the military occupied hospitals and university campuses on Monday in the face of mass resistance to its violent rule. 

The Southeast Asian country plunged into chaos after the junta staged a coup d’état in the early hours of February 1, ousting elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party officials.

The junta leaders have responded to the protests with an increasingly brutal crackdown, which includes night raids on activists and their arrests. 

So far, more than 50 people have been killed and nearly 1,800 arrested, according to sources monitoring the police and military response to the chaotic situation.

Two protesters died on Monday after being shot in the head as shops, factories and banks were closed in the main city of Yangon in a general strike, that has been organized as part of a civil disobedience movement against the coup.

Photos posted on social media showed the bodies of two men lying on the street in the northern town of Myitkyina.

Eye witnesses said they were taking part in the protest when police fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperese the crowds. Several people were then hit by gunfire from nearby buildings.

One witness, who said he helped move the deceased, told Reuters that the two people were shot in the head and died on the spot. Three people were injured.

Monday's demonstrations followed the trade unions' call for mass strikes to bring the country's economy to a halt.

“To continue economic and business activities as usual... will only benefit the military as they repress the energy of the Myanmar people,” eighteen unions said in a joint statement. “The time to take action in defense of our democracy is now,” they added.

ME