Burma Junta Cracks Down on Crowds Defying Protest Ban
Reports of many injured demonstrators drew strong concern from the U.N.’s office in Burma.
“According to reports from Nay Pyi Taw, Mandalay and other cities, numerous demonstrators have been injured, some of them seriously, by security forces in connection with the current protests across the country,” the U.N. said.
“The use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable,” said Ola Almgren, the U.N. resident coordinator in Burma.
Water cannons were used in Mandalay, Burma’s second-biggest city, where witnesses said at least two warning shots were fired in early attempts to break up the crowd. Gunfire could be heard on videos from the city, some of which showed riot police flailing wildly with their batons at people trying to flee. Reports on social media said police arrested more than two dozen people there.