Myanmar security forces allow protesters trapped in Yangon district to leave after another day of bloodshed

Students trapped in Sanchaung were eventually allowed to leave the area, after another day of bloodshed saw three demonstrators killed elsewhere

Two protesters died of gunshot wounds to the head in the town of Myitkyina, while at least one person was killed at a protest in the town of Phyar Pon

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Protesters clash with security forces in Yangon on Monday during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar. Photo: DPA

Published: 1:36am, 9 Mar 2021Updated: 10:45am, 9 Mar 2021

Hundreds of young Myanmar protesters who had been trapped by security forces in a district of Yangon overnight have been able to get out, activists said on Tuesday, after calls from Western powers and the United Nations for them to be allowed to leave.

Thousands of people defied a night time curfew to take to the streets of Myanmar’s main city in support of the youths in Sanchaung district, where they had been holding a daily protest against the February 1 coup.

The army takeover and arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi has plunged Myanmar into chaos. Security forces have killed over 60 protesters and detained more than 1,800 since then, an advocacy group said.

In Sanchaung, police firing guns and using stun grenades announced on Monday they would check houses for anyone from outside the district and would punish anyone caught hiding them.

Youth activist Shar Ya Mone said she had been in a building with about 15 to 20 others, but had now been able to go home. “There were many free car rides and people welcoming the protesters,” Shar Ya Mone said by telephone, pledging to keep demonstrating “until the dictatorship ends.”

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