Yangon: At least 11 people have been killed in a northwestern town in Myanmar, local media reported, as security forces cracked down on anti-coup protesters who fought back with hunting rifles and firebombs.
The Myanmar Now and Irrawaddy news sites said on Thursday that six truckloads of troops were deployed to quell a huge protest in the town of Taze on Wednesday. When the protesters fought back with guns, knives and firebombs, five more truckloads of troop reinforcements were brought in.
Fighting continued into Thursday morning and at least 11 protesters were killed and about 20 wounded, the media said.
There was no word of any casualties among the soldiers.
That would take the toll of civilians killed by security forces to over 600 since the Myanmar military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Taze is near the town of Kale, where at least 11 people were killed in a similar clash on Wednesday, according to news media and witnesses. Security forces fired live rounds, grenades, and machine guns on protesters who were demanding the restoration of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, AAPP said.
In Yangon, the country’s biggest city, activists placed shoes filled with flowers to commemorate dead protesters.