The Guardian
Agence France-Presse in YangonWed 17 Mar 2021
Traumatised residents flee area as security forces fire at unarmed anti-coup protesters
Protesters take cover behind homemade shields as they confront the police in Yangon. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Part of Myanmar’s biggest city has turned into a battle zone, with burning barricades and security forces firing at unarmed anti-coup protesters.
Traumatised residents have fled Hlaing Tharyar, an industrial neighbourhood in Yangon that has become one of the flashpoint sites in a nationwide uprising against the military’s coup nearly seven weeks ago.
The junta has increasingly deployed heavier force to quell the demonstrations, with more than 200 protesters reported to have been killed in the crackdown.