National
March 7, 2021
YANGON: Anti-coup demonstrators took to the streets of Myanmar Saturday, a day after a United Nations envoy urged the Security Council to hear the nation´s "desperate pleas" and take swift action to restore democracy.
The country has been in turmoil since a February 1 coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power, triggering a massive uprising from hundreds of thousands opposed to the new junta.
Security forces have in response initiated an increasingly brutal crackdown on demonstrators, killing more than 50 people since the coup. But protesters rallied again on Saturday, from the dusty roads of northern Lashio -- where young protesters stared down police behind homemade shields -- to central Loikaw city in view of Myanmar´s eastern mountains.