A protester holds the shirt of a fallen comrade during a crackdown by security forces during protests against the military coup in Hlaing Tharyar Township in Yangon on March 14, 2021.
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Security forces on Sunday killed at least 14 protesters in a poor, industrial suburb of Myanmar’s capital and killed at least three people in other parts of the country, according to local media.
State television said a policeman was also killed in one of the bloodiest days of protests against the February 1 coup.
The Chinese embassy has asked Myanmar to protect its property and citizens after saying two China-funded garment factories were set on fire by unknown assailants.
Smoke rises as protests against military coup and detention of elected government members continue on March 14, 2021 in Hlaing Thar Yar Township, Yangon, Myanmar.
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Demonstrations are now in their sixth week since the coup overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and plunged the Southeast Asian country into turmoil, with the economy paralyzed by strikes by opponents of the army takeover.
The violence came a day after Mahn Win Khaing Than, who fled with most senior officials of the Suu Kyi National League for Democracy Party, said the civilian government would try to give people the legal right to defend themselves.
Security forces opened fire on protesters in the Hlaingthaya district of the city, a poor suburb with migrants from across the country. Plumes of black smoke rose over the area.
According to Myanmar Now, at least 14 protesters were killed, according to the local hospital and a rescue worker.
A Hlaingthaya hospital official said the death toll and injuries were still rising, the report said. Other media in Myanmar have given even higher tolls in the area.
Security forces are on hand during a protest rally against the military coup in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar township on March 14, 2021.
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The state television MRTV said martial law had been instituted in the district. A junta spokesman did not respond to calls for comment.
Dr. Sasa, a representative of elected assemblies of the assembly expelled by the army, expressed solidarity with the residents of the district.
“The perpetrators, attackers, enemies of the people of Myanmar, the evil SAC (State Administrative Council) will be held accountable for every drop of blood that is shed,” he said in a message.
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Protesters use fire extinguishers during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, March 14, 2021.
China says factories burned
Myanmar Now quoted residents as saying that three factories in Hlaingthaya had been set on fire. It was unclear whether it included two clothing factories burned by the Chinese state news service CGTN.
CGTN quoted the Chinese embassy in Myanmar as asking for help.
“China urges Myanmar to take further effective measures to stop all violence, punish the perpetrators according to the law and ensure the safety and security of the lives of Chinese enterprises and personnel in Myanmar,” the statement said.
The perpetrators are said to have not been identified.
Opponents of the coup have criticized China for not coming out stronger against the takeover of the army as Western countries have done. China has said that priority is stability and that it is Myanmar’s internal affair.
A man uses a slingshot during the security force striking protesters against coup in Mandalay, Myanmar, on March 14, 2021.
REUTERS | Stringer
At least three deaths were reported elsewhere in Myanmar on Sunday, including in the second city of Mandalay and in Bago, where state television MRTV said a police officer died of a chest wound after a confrontation with protesters.
He is the second policeman to be killed in the protests.
The latest deaths would bring the toll of the protests to nearly 100, while the group for aid prisoners for political prisoners said more than 2,100 had also been arrested by Saturday.
Suu Kyi is due to return to court on Monday. She faces at least four charges, including unlawful use of radios and infringing coronavirus protocols.
The military said it had seized power after rejecting allegations of fraud in a November 8 election by Suu Kyi’s party. It promised to hold a new election but did not set a date.
Reporting by Reuters staff; Written by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Edited by William Mallard, Tom Hogue and David Clarke