Fresh bloodshed in Myanmar ahead of UNSC meet on crisis
YANGON: Police in Myanmar on Friday opened fire on protesters against last month’s military coup, killing one man, as international condemnation rained down on the junta ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the crisis.
The violence took place as the military lost a tussle over leadership of its UN mission in New York and the United States announced new sanctions targeting military conglomerates after the deaths of dozens of civilian protesters.
Activists demanding the restoration of the elected government of veteran democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi held more demonstrations in several towns and cities, with a crowd of thousands marching peacefully through the second city of Mandalay.
Police opened fire and one man was killed, witnesses and a doctor told Reuters.
In the main city of Yangon, police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse protesters who had been joined by about 100 doctors in white coats, witnesses said.
Crowds also gathered in the town of Pathein, to the west of Yangon, and in central Myingyan, where dozens of women in straw hats held up signs calling for Suu Kyi’s release, witnesses said.
On Thursday, police broke up rallies with tear gas and gunfire in several cities but their crackdown was more restrained than on Wednesday, when the United Nations said 38 people were killed in the bloodiest day of protests.
In all, at least 55 people have been killed since the February 1 coup.
Condemnation of the coup and subsequent violence has come largely from the West. The junta can count on some support from Russia and China - a major investor - at the United Nations.
The military has weathered isolation and sanctions during previous eras of rule by generals and has indicated it will not be swayed this time round.
The UN human rights investigator on Myanmar, Thomas Andrews, urged the Security Council - which meets to discuss the situation later on Friday - to impose a global arms embargo and targeted economic sanctions on the junta.
In New York, a clash over who represents Myanmar at the United Nations was averted after the junta’s replacement quit and the Myanmar UN mission confirmed that Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun remained in the job.
The junta fired Kyaw Moe Tun on Saturday after he urged countries at the UN General Assembly to use “any means necessary” to reverse the coup.