Myanmar troops kill 7 protesters
PBC News: Myanmar troops fired at anti-coup protesters on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and wounding several, media said, as a Chinese-owned factory was set on fire in the commercial capital Yangon and activists burned the Chinese flag.
The country’s military ruler said the civil disobedience movement was “destroying” Myanmar.
More than 580 people have been killed, according to an activist group, in the turmoil in Myanmar since a Feb. 1 coup that ended a brief period of civilian-led democracy. Nationwide protests and strikes have persisted since then despite the military’s use of lethal force to quell the opposition.Security forces opened fire on Wednesday on protesters in the northwestern town of Kale as they demanded the restoration of Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government, a resident told Reuters.
News outlets cited witnesses saying there were casualties and repeated gunfire. The Mizzima and Irrawaddy news outlets said five people were killed and several wounded.
The Kale resident said the information was provided to him by witnesses, who took pictures of five bodies.
Reuters could not independently verify the toll.
Two protesters were killed in the town of Bago near Yangon, the Myanmar Now news outlet said.
A fire broke out in the Chinese-owned JOC Garment Factory in Yangon on Wednesday, news reports and the Fire Department said. There were no reports of casualties and no details on the extent of damage.
In another Yangon neighbourhood, activists set fire to the Chinese flag, according to pictures posted on Facebook.
China is viewed as being supportive of the military junta and last month there were arson attacks against 32 Chinese-invested factories in Yangon.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the junta, said in a statement published on Wednesday that the civil disobedience movement or CDM had halted the working of hospitals, schools, roads, offices and factories.
