Ten protesters killed: Myanmar forces open fire at protesters

Yangon: At least 10 people were killed when Myanmar security forces fired on pro-democracy protesters Wednesday as multiple rallies across the country descended into chaos.

Myanmar has been in uproar since February 1 when the military launched a coup and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending the nation’s decade-long experiment with democracy and sparking daily mass protests.

International pressure is mounting -- Western powers have repeatedly hit the generals with sanctions -- and Britain has called for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday. But the junta has ignored the global condemnation, responding to the uprising with escalating strength, and security services used lethal force on demonstrators again on Wednesday.

The military has also hit half a dozen detained journalists with criminal charges that could see them spend up to three years in jail if convicted.

Three cities in central Myanmar saw bloody crackdowns on protesters by security forces on Wednesday, with Monywa in the Sagaing region registering the highest number of deaths with at least seven.

"What we can confirm is seven people have died," said an emergency doctor, who declined to provide his name. Multiple medics also said they saw two other individuals being dragged away by security forces, though they could not get close enough to confirm if they had died.

In neighbouring Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, two demonstrators were killed, a doctor confirmed to AFP, adding that one of the victims was 19 years old and was shot in the head.

And a protest in Myingyan turned deadly when security forces deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds against protesters carrying red home-made shields emblazoned with the three-finger salute -- a symbol of resistance for the anti-coup movement. Several medics confirmed a young man was gunned down.

"Zin Ko Ko Zaw, a 20-year-old, was shot dead on the spot," a rescue team member told AFP, adding that his team had treated 17 people from the protest.

Local media in northern Kachin state also reported similar scenes of violence, publishing images of police bearing down on protesters in Hpakant. "Some were hit with rubber bullets and some were suffocating because of tear gas," a doctor told AFP, saying his private hospital treated 10 injured.

Two critically wounded people -- one struck in the chest, the other in the neck -- had to be driven to the state capital’s hospital about four hours away. Parts of commercial hub Yangon were transformed, with protesters using makeshift tyres and barbed wire barricades to block major roads.

Near the famed Sule pagoda intersection, protesters pasted print-outs of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s face on the ground -- a tactic aimed at slowing down security forces who will avoid standing on the portraits.