Coup in Myanmar: Security forces snuff out protests

Myanmar security forces quickly snuffed out sporadic anti-junta protests yesterday after hundreds of young activists who had been trapped overnight in a district of its biggest city Yangon were able to get out.

People barricaded overnight said security forces searched their homes room by room for anti-coup protesters, targeting apartments flying the flag of Aung San Suu Kyi's party National League for Democracy (NLD).

An official from NLD died in custody after he was arrested early yesterday, a former parliamentarian said, the second party figure to die in detention in two days as protesters challenged last month's military coup in the streets.

Overnight, police arrested about 50 people who had been cornered by security forces in Yangon, a rights group said. But hundreds managed to escape the encirclement after crowds of demonstrators rallied in their support in defiance of a night-time curfew.

Western powers and the United Nations had called on the military to allow the youths to leave the area in safety.

Myanmar has been in crisis since the army ousted Suu Kyi's elected government in a coup on February 1, detained her and other NLD officials, and set up a ruling junta of generals.

Daily protests against the coup are being staged across the country and security forces have cracked down harshly. More than 60 protesters have been killed and more than 1,800 detained, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an advocacy group, has said.

The NLD's Zaw Myat Linn died in custody yesterday after he was arrested in Yangon around 1:30 am, said Ba Myo Thein, a member of the dissolved upper house of parliament.

"He's been participating continuously in the protests," Ba Myo Thein said. "Now, the relatives are trying to retrieve the body at the Military Hospital."

Neither the military nor the police responded to calls for comment.

Zaw Myat Linn is the second NLD official to have died in custody in the last two days. Khin Maung Latt, who had worked as a campaign manager for an NLD MP elected in 2020, died after he was arrested on Saturday night.

The army has justified the coup by saying that a November election won by the NLD was marred by fraud - a claim rejected by the electoral commission. It has promised a new election, but has not said when that might be held.

International powers have condemned the takeover, which derailed a slow transition to democracy in a country that has been ruled by the military for long periods since independence from Britain in 1947.

CAUGHT IN A TRAP

In Yangon's Sanchaung district on Monday night, security forces trapped hundreds of youngsters who had taken part in earlier anti-coup demonstrations.

Police firing guns and using stun grenades checked houses for anyone from outside the district and said they would punish anyone caught hiding.

Security forces started searching apartments after a nightly internet shutdown blanketed the country at 1:00 am local time, residents told AFP.

One resident said her home -- which did not have any protesters hiding inside -- was searched.

"They searched every building on Kyun Taw road -- they destroyed the locks of apartment buildings if they were locked downstairs," said the resident, adding that she heard dozens were arrested.

However, thousands of people took to the streets in support of the youths, and many managed to to slip away.

Activist Shar Ya Mone said she had been in a building with about 15 to 20 others, but had now been able to go home.

"There were many free car rides and people welcoming the protesters," Shar Ya Mone said by telephone.

A junta spokesman did not answer calls requesting comment. State television MRTV had said earlier: "The government's patience has run out." Most people wanted stability and stronger measures to the end the protests, it said.

Scattered protests were held in Yangon and other towns across Myanmar yesterday but were quickly broken up by security forces using tear gas and stun grenades. At least two people were wounded, one by a gunshot, in the town of Mohnyin in the north, local media said.

Myanmar recalled its British ambassador yesterday, a day after he urged the military junta to release detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, state media reported.

The MRTV news channel said Kyaw Swar Min had released the statement without following orders.

The United States criticised the junta for stripping five independent media companies of their licences.

Witnesses said two journalists from Kamayut, another independent media house, have been arrested and the offices of Mizzima News raided.