Protesters march as Myanmar enters 4th month under coup

YANGON: Explosions blasted off throughout Myanmar’s largest city Yangon on Saturday as protesters held flash marches for democracy, defying a brutal junta that has held onto power for three blood-drenched months.

The country has been in an uproar since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, bringing an abrupt end to Myanmar’s shortlived experiment with democracy. The power grab triggered a massive uprising, which authorities have tried to quell by deploying lethal force and live ammunition.

As Myanmar entered its fourth month under military rule on Saturday, protesters in commercial hub Yangon - an epicentre of unrest with a heavy security presence - staged flash demonstrations, marching rapidly through the streets to avoid confrontation with police and soldiers.

“We have the truth. Only the truth will prevail,” read a banner that protesters hoisted up as they marched quickly through a neighbourhood, flashing the three-finger salute of defiance.

In Yangon’s Insein township, a bomb blast went off around 10 am near a local school, said a resident staying nearby.

“Some security forces came to check the blast area, but I only watched from a distance from my home because I was worried they would arrest me,” he told AFP, adding that he saw smoke rising.

By afternoon, another two blasts went off in Yankin, further south, according to locals living in the leafy residential township.

“I heard it from my place, I thought it was thunder,” a resident told AFP, adding that the explosions left the security forces nervous. It remains unclear if anyone was injured by the blasts.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombs - which are exploding with increasing frequency in Yangon.