Britain urges citizens to leave amid mounting violence; Polish journalist detained
At least six protesters were killed by security forces in Myanmar, witnesses and media reported, as activists marked the death anniversary on Saturday of a student whose killing in 1988 sparked an uprising against the military government.
Three people were killed and several injured when police opened fire on a sit-in protest in Mandalay, two witnesses said. Another person was killed in the central town of Pyay and two died in police firing in Yangon overnight, domestic media reported.
Riot police and soldiers entered the general hospital in Hakha, in the western Chin state, forcing all 30 patients to leave and evicting staff from on-site housing, said activist Salai Lian.
Soldiers have been occupying hospitals and universities across Myanmar as they try to quash a civil disobedience movement that started with government employees, such as doctors and teachers.
Also read: U.N. Security Council ‘strongly condemns’ Myanmar military’s violence
Saturday’s protests erupted after posters spread on social media urging people to mark the death anniversary of Phone Maw, who was shot and killed by security forces in 1988 inside what was then known as the Rangoon Institute of Technology campus.
His shooting and that of another student who died a few weeks later sparked widespread protests against the military government known as the 8-8-88 campaign, because they peaked in August that year. An estimated 3,000 people were killed when the army crushed the uprising, at the time the biggest challenge to military rule dating back to 1962.
Britain on Friday warned its citizens in Myanmar to leave, saying “political tension and unrest are widespread since the military takeover and levels of violence are rising”.
South Korea has said it would suspend defence exchanges and reconsider development aid to Myanmar because of the violence.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry said a Polish journalist was arrested this week in Myanmar.
