18 anti-coup protesters were killed this Sunday in one of the bloodiest days since Myanmar

At least 18 anti-coup protesters were killed this Sunday in one of the bloodiest days since Myanmar suffered a military coup, while a group of dismissed deputies urged citizens to “defend themselves” in the nation’s “darkest moment”.

This Sunday, the military junta decreed martial law in two neighborhoods of Rangoon.

Board “Grants the administrative and judicial power of martial law to the Yangon regional commander to apply it” in the neighborhoods of Hlaing Tharyar and Shwepyitha (in the economic capital), said the state network in a news program.

This Sunday, at least 15 people were killed in attacks by the armed forces against protesters in these two districts.

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The crisis does not stop in Myanmar since the army overthrew the civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on February 1, provoking a massive uprising in which hundreds of thousands of people daily protest demanding the return to democracy.

The junta justified its seizure of power by arguing a huge electoral fraud in the November elections, won by an overwhelming majority by the National League for Democracy party, of Suu Kyi.

A group of elected parliamentarians, most of whom are in hiding, formed a shadow “parliament” called the Committee to Represent Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – a Burmese word for the ruling bloc – designed to denounce the regime. military.

This Sunday they released a statement stating that the protesters have the “Full right to defend oneself from the security forces that attack and cause violence, according to the country’s penal code.”

In recent weeks, soldiers and police have almost daily repressed protesters calling for a return to democracy, throwing tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition at them to quell the protests.

More than 80 people had already died in the riots, according to a local monitoring group.

But, as expected, this number increased dramatically after the violence this Sunday in a shopping center in Yangon, in particular.

More violence

In the sprawling Hlaing Tharyar Township in Rangoon, police and soldiers clashed with stick and knife-wielding protesters as they took cover behind makeshift barricades and many fled after security forces began firing.

The protesters, using clipped garbage cans as shields, managed to recover several wounded, however, a doctor said that it was not possible to reach all of them.

He runs it during the crackdown in Hlaing Tharyar Township. (Photo by STR / AFP). (STR /)

“I can confirm that there were 15 dead”the doctor told AFP by phone, adding that he had treated about 50 injured, which makes it foresee that the number of fatalities will increase.

“I can not speak much (he apologized), they continue to arrive injured”, he said before cutting.

The group Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners, which verifies arrests and deaths since the coup, confirmed a higher number of deaths.

Law enforcement officers opened fire on protesters in Hlaing Tharyar, one of the Yangon municipalities, while some defended themselves with sticks and knives and others fled, carrying the wounded and putting them into vehicles.

This Sunday another demonstration was repressed in Hpakant (north), in the state of Kachin, a city known for its jade mines. A man was shot dead, according to a doctor and a local media, confirming the use of real and rubber bullets.

This Sunday a sit-in was held in Rangoon, the economic capital, and there were marches in Dawei (south) and officials brandished a portrait of Suu Kyi during a rally in Monywa (center). The protesters chanted slogans for the dead: “May the heroes who gave their lives in this spring revolution rest in peace!”, While they clamored for the release of detainees

This Sunday shots were heard at two emblematic protest sites, the Hledan roundabout and in the Hlaing Tharyar neighborhood.

On Saturday night the CRPH released a speech, through Mahn Win Khaing Than, vice president of the shadow parliament.

“The union in a federal democracy (…) awaits us in the near future if we advance united and invincible”, He said.