Myanmar authorities open fire to disperse protesters after extending Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention

Defiant protesters have taken to the streets again following the February 1 coup, despite armoured vehicles fuelling fears of a military crackdown

The military junta cut the internet and fired at a crowd in Myitkyina overnight

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Engineers hold posters with an image of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they hold an anti-coup protest march. Photo: AP

Published: 12:45am, 15 Feb 2021Updated: 9:14pm, 15 Feb 2021

Myanmar security forces opened fire on Monday to disperse protesters in the city of Mandalay, the media outlet Frontier Myanmar reported.

The number of casualties was not clear, it said. A member of a student union in the city said some people were wounded.

The development came after the military deployed extra troops around the country and choked the internet as it intensified a crackdown on anti-coup protests that have continued daily since they seized power two weeks ago, after detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi along with members of her democratically elected government.

Her remand was set to expire on Monday but military leaders extended it until February 17, according to a lawyer representing her party.

Her extended detention is likely to further inflame tensions between the military, which seized power in a February 1 coup, and the protesters who have taken to the streets of cities across the Southeast Asian nation seeking the return of the government they elected.

The generals imposed an hours-long internet shutdown on Monday morning and ratcheted up the military’s presence across the country overnight, including armoured vehicles in Yangon, the nation’s commercial hub and biggest city.