Security forces in Myanmar again used live ammunition against people protesting the military coup in the country, leaving several people dead, according to witness reports on Thursday.
In the township of Myaing in central Myanmar, a group of people was targeted while protesting in front of a police station against the arrest of several individuals, a witness told dpa.
"The police cracked down on the protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets first, then fired shots with live bullets. Now nine people are dead, including one of my friends," the man said.
In the township of North Dagon in the east of Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, at least one protester was killed.
"There were over 100 protesters here ... one was killed by gun shots and two were injured," Kyaw Kyaw Win, a witness, told dpa. "At the front line of the protest were standing protesters with makeshift shields. They fired at them directly."
Since a military coup at the beginning of February, there have been daily mass demonstrations in Myanmar. The protesters demand the release of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the reinstatement of her civilian government.
According to estimates by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a non-profit organization in Myanmar, dozens of anti-coup protesters have been killed since the beginning of the demonstrations and about 1,900 arrested.
