Response to protests condemned

YANGON: Protesters returned to the streets of Myanmar yesterday after the most violent day yet in demonstrations against a coup that halted a tentative transition to democracy under elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The United States and United Nations condemned the use of force against protesters, who demand the reversal of the coup and the release of Suu Kyi and other detained leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and activists.

‘‘We cannot stay quiet,’’ youth leader Esther Ze Naw told Reuters.

‘‘If there is blood shed during our peaceful protests, then there will be more if we let them take over the country.’’

Thousands of people joined demonstrations in the main city of Yangon. In the capital Naypyidaw, hundreds of government workers marched in a growing civil disobedience campaign.

A doctor said one protester was expected to die from a gunshot wound to the head in Tuesday’s protests. She was wounded when police fired guns, mostly in the air, to clear protesters in Naypyidaw. Three other people were being treated for wounds from suspected rubber bullets, doctors said.

The US State Department said it was reviewing assistance to Myanmar to ensure those responsible for the coup face ‘‘significant consequences’’.

The United Nations called on Myanmar’s security forces to respect people’s right to protest peacefully.

‘‘The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable,’’ Ola Almgren, the UN representative in Myanmar, said. — Reuters

❛ The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable United Nations representative in Myanmar Ola Almgren