Protesters hold vigils in Myanmar, US orders some diplomats out

Protesters in Myanmar have held overnight candle-lit vigils for those killed by the country’s military regime, and the US has ordered its non-essential diplomats to leave the country amid continued violence.

According to Press TV, a local advocacy group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), reported the killing of eight more protesters on Tuesday, when thousands took part in protest rallies in several towns.

A march by protesters and vigils also took place in Moegaung, in Kachin, at dawn on Wednesday.

At least 521 civilians have so far been killed in two months of protests against the military’s February 1 coup, which ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, 141 of them on Saturday, according to the AAPP.

Aung San’s ouster came even though she had aligned herself with the military and defended its atrocities against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority population.

Meanwhile, the US State Department says it is ordering the “non-emergency US government employees and their family members” to leave the Southeast Asian country, noting that it made the decision to protect the safety and security of the staff and their families.

The junta’s violent response to nationwide protests has prompted global condemnation as well as threats of retaliation by a number of Myanmar’s nearly 20 armed militant groups that control large areas of territory mostly in border regions.

ME