At least 18 killed in bloodiest day of Myanmar anti-coup protests

In Myanmar,police fired on protesters on Sunday in the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations against a military coup and at least 18 people were killed and several wounded, political and medical sources and media said. The coup, which brought a halt to tentative steps towards democracy after nearly 50 years of military rule, has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets and the condemnation of Western countries. “Throughout the day, in several locations throughout the country, police and military forces have confronted peaceful demonstrations, using lethal force and less-than-lethal force that – according to credible information received by the UN Human Rights Office – has left at least 18 people dead and over 30 wounded,” the office said on Sunday.

At least 18 people were killed & 30 wounded in #Myanmar today. “We strongly condemn the escalating violence against protests in Myanmar & call on the military to immediately halt the use of force against peaceful protestors," says spox Ravina Shamdasani ????https://t.co/nqhVYtXZfv pic.twitter.com/sAvKPwR4F7

— UN Human Rights Asia (@OHCHRAsia) February 28, 2021

According to reports Police were out in force early and opened fire in different parts of the biggest city of Yangon after stun grenades, tear gas and shots in the air failed to break up crowds. Soldiers also reinforced police.Several wounded people were hauled away by fellow protesters, leaving bloody smears on pavements, media images showed. Police also opened fire in Dawei in the south, killing three and wounding several, politician Kyaw Min Htike told Reuters from the town. “Myanmar is like a battlefield,” the Buddhist-majority nation’s first Catholic cardinal, Charles Maung Bo, said on Twitter.

Myanmar is like a battlefield.
Catholics pray in public.
Photos by @MyanmarRva fb pic.twitter.com/ftQ9gJJc6p

— Cardinal Charles Bo (@CardinalMaungBo) February 28, 2021