Myanmar protests: security forces fire tear gas, stun grenades as UN envoy urges action

The crackdown in Yangon came hours after a UN diplomat called on the Security Council to take action against the junta for the killings of protesters

One man was killed in police firing on Friday, while South Korea’s Moon urged the military to release Aung San Suu Kyi and other detainees

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Police beat a protester during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:22am, 6 Mar 2021Updated: 3:04pm, 6 Mar 2021

Myanmar security forces used tear gas and stun grenades to break up a protest in Yangon on Saturday, just hours after a United Nations special envoy called on the Security Council to take action against the ruling junta for the killings of protesters.

The Southeast Asian country has been plunged into turmoil since the military overthrew and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, with daily protests and strikes that have choked business and paralysed administration.

Sporadic protests were staged across Myanmar on Saturday and local media reported that police fired tear gas shells and stun grenades to break up a protest in the Sanchaung district of Yangon, the country’s biggest city. There no reports of casualties.

More than 50 protesters have been killed according to the UN – at least 38 on Wednesday alone. Protesters demand the release of Suu Kyi and the respect of November’s election, which her party won in landslide, but which the army rejected.

The UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener arrives at the Parliament Building in Naypyidaw in June 2018. Photo: AP

“How much more can we allow the Myanmar military to get away with?” Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener told a closed meeting of the 15-member UN Security Council on Friday.

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