Police in Myanmar have seized hospitals and universities, arresting hundreds of people involved in the military coup last month, while a coalition of unions called for a nationwide strike on Monday.
Tension was high on Sunday night in the country’s largest city, Yangon, where shots of heavy weapons could be heard in the various areas after the evening clock at 20:00. The sounds of apparent shock grenades could also be heard on videos posted on social media.
Some of the shootings were heard near hospitals, where, according to reports, the residents wanted to block access to police and soldiers.
Security forces had previously targeted medical personnel and facilities and attacked ambulances and their crews. There are fears that the police’s presence in hospitals will enable authorities to arrest wounded people who are considered protesters.
The international group of doctors for human rights condemned the occupation of hospitals and said in a statement that it was “upset about this latest violent violence by the military in Myanmar, including the invasion and occupation of public hospitals and the excessive violence against civilians”.
“If it had not been obvious before, it is now absolutely clear: the army of Myanmar will not stop violating the rights of the people of Myanmar until the international community acts decisively to prevent these outrageous acts and for that. accountability, ”he said.
The group said the occupation of hospitals by force was a violation of international law which “is only a further undermining of a health care system already undermined by the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent military coup”.
It is said that one eyewitness report reported that armed security forces entered the Ordinary West Yangon General Hospital by force and tried to occupy it. It is also reported that Yangon General Hospital, North Okkalapa Waibagi Specialist Hospital, South Okkalapa Women and Children’s Hospital, East Yangon General Hospital and Central Women’s Hospital were occupied by the army.
The group said they had received similar reports from Mandalay, Monywa and Taunggyi.
An alliance of influential labor unions in Myanmar has called for a comprehensive nationwide strike starting on Monday, with the intention of causing the ‘full, extensive strike’ of the country’s economy in an effort to stem the military coup.
In a statement, nine labor organizations called on ‘all people in Myanmar’ to strike in an effort to stop the seizure of power by the military.
Workers in various industries joined the protest movement, especially from the state railway and the banking sector.
Moe Sanda Myint, chairwoman of the Federation of Garment Workers Myanmar, said she believes the majority of workers will join.
“We insist on continuing the strike until the dictatorship is uprooted,” she said.
Andrew Tillett-Saks, Myanmar’s rural program director for the Solidarity Center, a US workers’ rights organization, said the strike “increases the likelihood that many more from the private sector will answer the call in the days and weeks to come”.
“This is a strategy that the military can probably push acceptably,” he said.
Tens of thousands of people came out in Myanmar on Sunday during one of the biggest days of protests against the coup, despite overnight raids by security forces in Yangon, on campaign leaders and opposition activists.
In a single Yangon neighborhood, Shwepyitha, at least 100 students have reportedly been arrested, and it is said that many protesters have also been detained in other cities, especially at universities.
According to the live video posted on Facebook, police fired tear gas and stun grenades in the northern Shan region of Lashio city. According to a witness, police opened fire to break a protest in the historic temple town of Bagan, but it was not clear if they were using rubber bullets or live ammunition.
A member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Soe Win, confirmed that some officials were arrested during raids on Saturday night, but the exact number was unknown.
At least one community leader linked to the ousted NLD government of Aung San Suu Kyi, 58-year-old Khin Maung Latt, was killed during a raid on Pabedan township in Yangon, Tun Kyi told the Former Political Prisoners Association .
“He was beaten and taken in a raid … and it looks like he was subjected to a hard interrogation,” he told AFP, adding that his body had been taken to a cemetery.
The Burma Human Rights Network said two other NLD members had also been killed since Friday, one after being arrested for participating in a protest in the northern Shan state, and the other in Magway region with stabbed a knife, he said.
The United Nations says security forces have killed more than 50 people since daily protests began after the army overthrew and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.