Yangon, March 7: Police in Myanmar’s ancient former capital, Bagan, opened fire Sunday on demonstrators protesting last month’s military takeover, wounding several people, according to witness accounts and videos on social media.
At least five people were reported wounded as police sought to break up the Bagan protest, and photos showed one young man with bloody wounds on his chin and neck, believed to have been caused by a rubber bullet.
Bullet casings collected at the scene indicated that live rounds were also fired. The city, located in the central Mandalay region, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of the more than 2,000 pagodas or their remnants still situated there, dating from the ninth to 13th centuries, when it was the capital of a kingdom that later became known as Burma and is now Myanmar.
Bagan is best known for being one of the country’s top tourist attractions, but it has also been the scene of large protest marches against the military’s February 1 seizure of power.
Large protests have occurred daily across many cities and towns in Myanmar, and security forces have responded with greater use of lethal force and mass arrests.
At least 18 protesters were shot and killed on February 28 and 38 on Wednesday, according to the UN Human Rights Office. More than 1,500 have been arrested, the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said. (AP)
