British citizens are urged to leave Myanmar

BRITONS HAVE been told to flee Myanmar unless they have an “urgent” reason to remain there as the Government grew increasingly concerned over violence in the wake of the military coup.

The Foreign Office advised British nationals yesterday to leave the south-east Asian country by commercial means after one of the bloodiest days of the regime’s crackdown.

At least 10 people protesting against the coup were shot dead by Myanmar’s security forces on Thursday, as an independent UN expert cited mounting evidence of crimes against humanity.

Protests, strikes and other forms of civil disobedience have gripped the nation since the coup toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s government on February 1.

Around 300 British nationals are estimated to still be in Myanmar, with the vast majority being residents while a small number are thought to be on short-term business.

They were urged to leave as concerns of a deteriorating security situation mounted, with an escalation of violence in residential areas.

The official guidance was updated to: “Advice for British nationals to leave the country by commercial means, unless there is an urgent need to stay.”

The news comes as Myanmar’s security forces have shot at least 10 people dead amid ongoing protests against the military’s coup.

The deadly crackdown spurned a UN Security Council appeal for Myanmar’s military rulers to stop using lethal force, while an independent UN expert cited growing evidence of crimes against humanity in the country.

The military also lodged a new allegation against the deposed government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, alleging that in 2017-18

she was illegally given $600,000 (£429,000) and gold bars worth slightly less by a political ally.

She and Myanmar’s president Win Myint have been detained on less serious allegations. The new accusation appears aimed at discrediting Ms Suu Kyi and perhaps charging her with a serious crime.

Military spokesman Brig Gen Zaw Min Tun said at a news conference in the capital that former Yangon Division Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein had admitted giving the money and gold to Ms Suu Kyi, but presented no evidence.

Myanmar has been roiled by protests, strikes and other acts of civil disobedience since the coup toppled Ms Suu Kyi’s government on February 1, just as it was to start its second term.

The takeover reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in the south-east Asian nation after five decades of military rule.