At least two people were killed on Saturday and dozens more injured in Burma during protests against a February 1 military coup that led to the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto leader.
Violence broke out in Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city with a population of about 1.2 million.
“One person died in front of my eyes, he was shot in the head. I can’t tell the exact age, but it looked like it was a young boy. … A friend of mine saw the same thing, another person was shot and killed in So I can say with certainty that two were killed on the spot, ”said Pyae Sone Aung, a freelance photojournalist from Mandalay who attended the protest.
One of the murdered men was identified by family members as Thet Naing Win, a 36-year-old carpenter, Reuters reported.
BURMA SECURITY FORCES CONTINUE PROTEST TIMIDATION, AMERICAN EMBASSY ADOPTS VOLUNTARY EVACUATION
According to protesters, people started to gather at a local shipyard in Mandalay at 8 a.m., hoping to stop military police from entering the city. Things turned violent around 2 p.m. when local squatters living by the side of the road started throwing stones at police forces that used water cannons to control the crowd, Pyae Sone Aung said.
“These people threw sticks and stones, they were not even close to the police,” said the witness.
According to Sone Aung, at this point the police started firing bullets in the air and chaos broke out.
“We didn’t know who got shot at first, it was like a war zone,” said Sone Aung. “All we could do was wait for the police to withdraw so that ambulances and paramedics could come and collect the bodies, injured and shot people.”
According to Sone Aung, police used live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against the protesters.
“In the beginning when there were gunshots, people ran into houses and scattered, but then everyone felt numb and knew this was so unjust, they ran back to see what happened … They came out with anything they could use to get revenge – swing shots, rocks. “
Around noon, news of the violence began to reach Yangon, Burma’s largest city with over 5 million inhabitants.
“A boy died in Mandalay,” a woman who holds both US and Burmese citizenship and lives in Yangon told Fox News in a WhatsApp message under the condition of anonymity. “He volunteered to help injured people in the military crackdown, in which he was shot in the head.”
She continued, “In the past 19 days … today is the worst. People are telling us not to fight the military and the police … This is what the military wants … so the UN and the US win. “Come in.”
A young woman, Nay Pyi Taw, died Friday night of the injuries sustained in a February 9 protest, the first reported death as a result of the security forces’ response to the protests, the US State Department said.
“We condemn any violence against the people of Burma and reiterate our call to the Burmese military to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters,” said Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department. “We will work with partners and allies to pressurize the Burmese military to reverse its actions and help the people of Burma fulfill their ambitions for peace, democracy and the rule of law.”
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For some in the country, however, strong words from foreign powers are not enough.
“We would like to see the US come in and intervene,” said the American / Burmese woman in Yangon. “Instead of writing letters condemning the coup, they should act and demand the release of Aung San Su Kyi.”