Armies
Myanmar junta leader says Aung San Suu Kyi will soon appear
Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi was healthy at home and would appear in court in a few days, in his first interview since overthrowing her in a Feb. 1 coup. The coup has plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos and one of several ethnic armed groups opposed to the ruling junta advanced to attack a military post in a northwestern jade mining town on Saturday, local media said. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her long struggle against previous military rulers, is among more than 4,000 people detained since the coup. She faces charges that range from illegally possessing walkie-talkie radios to violating a state secrets law. “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health. She is at her home and healthy. She is going to face trial at the cou...
Myanmar army battles anti-coup rebels as armed resistance grows
Myanmar’s army battled local militia fighters in the northwestern town of Mindat on Saturday, residents said, to try to quell a rebellion that has sprung up to oppose the junta which seized power in the Southeast Asian country in February. The fighting is some of the heaviest since the coup and underlines the growing chaos as the junta struggles to impose order in the face of daily protests, strikes and sabotage attacks after it overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “We are running for our lives,” one resident told Reuters from Mindat, a hill town just over 100 km (60 miles) from the border with India. “There are around 20,000 people trapped in town, most of them are kids, old people,” the resident added. “My friend’s three nieces were hit by shrapnel. They are not even teens.” The ju...
More than 90 killed in Myanmar in one of bloodiest days of protests
Security forces killed more than 90 people across Myanmar on Saturday in one of the bloodiest days of protests since a military coup last month, news reports and witnesses said. The lethal crackdown came on Armed Forces Day. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the junta leader, said during a parade in the capital Naypyitaw to mark the event that the military would protect the people and strive for democracy. State television had said on Friday that protesters risked being shot “in the head and back”. Despite this, demonstrators against the Feb. 1 coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns. The Myanmar Now news portal said 91 people were killed across the country by security forces. A boy reported by local media to be as young as five was among at least 29 people killed in...
