YANGON, March 13 (AFP) - At least three people were killed when demonstrators took to the streets again across Myanmar on Saturday, after a deadly overnight crackdown as hundreds defied a curfew to hold vigils in honour of those killed since the military seized power.
The junta has deployed increasing force against daily protests since the February 1 coup, with more than 70 people killed according to the UN’s top rights expert on the country.
But hundreds of thousands have continued to gather across the country to call for the release of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- who was detained in the February 1 putsch -- and a return to democracy.
Saturday brought early crackdowns by security forces in Myanmar’s second largest city Mandalay, which saw more than 20 injured, including a monk.
At least three were killed, including a 21-year-old, according to an AFP reporter and a doctor on the scene.
The sister of Saw Pyae Naing sobbed as she uncovered her brother’s body and gently touched his face at a makeshift medical centre.
Further south along the Irrawady river, protesters in Pyay wearing hard hats and carrying homemade shields attempted to hold off authorities as they retrieved an injured man.
“Come! Come and protect with the shields!” they yelled as they carried a slumped bleeding man to safety.
The fresh violence against protesters comes after three people were killed overnight in commercial hub Yangon.
Footage shared on social media late Friday and verified by AFP showed police pulling three residents out on the streets of Thaketa township, beating them on the head and hauling them away. Angry residents went to the police station to protest, and sounds of gunshots were heard hours later in the township, including by an AFP reporter.
“Security forces arrested three young men, and as we followed to get them back, they cracked down on us,” recounted a resident Saturday, requesting anonymity.
“Two were killed -- with one shot in his head and another one hit with a shot that penetrated his cheek to the neck,” he said, adding that they had to wait until the police stopped shooting to retrieve the bodies.