Myanmar’s military junta has deployed a notorious infantry unit in Mandalay, where two people were shot dead on Saturday, in what campaigners described as a worrying escalation of the crackdown on peaceful protests against the coup.
Police and soldiers fired live rounds into a crowd of protesting dockyard workers in the country’s second city, killing two and injuring several others, according to local media.
The violence marked the deadliest single day since the military commander-in-chief General Min Aung Hlaing toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government and seized power in the February 1 coup.
Protesters were undeterred by the escalation of violence, with crowds gathering in Mandalay and Yangon, the commercial centre, on Sunday. The first known casualty of the coup, Mya Thwe Thwe Khine, passed away on Friday after being shot in Naypyidaw, the capital, earlier this month, according to local media.
Witnesses in Mandalay on Saturday reported…
