Myanmar protesters held overnight candle-lit vigils after an advocacy group said security forced had now killed over 500 people since the 1 February coup.

After weeks of silence as Myanmar ’s military cracked down on civilians protesting against the 1 February coup, the Arakan Army (AA), a major player among the country’s more than two dozen ethnic armed groups, this week announced it was on the side of the people.“The current actions by the Burmese army and police are very cruel and unacceptable,” AA spokesman Khine Thu Khahe said on Tuesday (23 March), adding that “the oppressed ethnic people as a whole will continue to fight for their freedo

United States (US) President Joe Biden on Sunday decried the bloodshed unleashed against anti-coup protesters in Myanmar as "absolutely outrageous," after security forces killed more than 100 people including at least seven children.Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February, triggering mass protests demanding a return to democracy.On Saturday, at least 107 people were killed across Myanmar as security forces ope

Myanmar's security forces killed nearly 90 people in the bloodiest day since the military seized power, a monitoring group said Saturday, as the junta staged a major show of might for its annual Armed Forces Day. The nation has been in turmoil since the generals ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February, triggering a major uprising demanding a return to democracy.The country's capital Naypyidaw saw a grand parade of troops and military vehicles in the

Strung across remote mountain settlements, a secret network of activists and volunteers is helping spirit hundreds of defecting Myanmar policemen away from the military’s brutal crackdown on dissent and into relative safety in a small north-eastern Indian state.Their escape – by car, motorcycle and on foot through densely forested terrain – is often guided by volunteer-led groups on both sides of the border, according to accounts from at least 10 people who are involved in the loose-knit netw

The family of a young girl killed in her home by Myanmar's security forces say they have gone into hiding and dare not return for fear of being targeted by the military.Khin Myo Chit was shot dead in her father's arms after security forces kicked down the door to their home in the city of Mandalay on Tuesday. She is the youngest victim yet in the military's post-coup crackdown.

Myanmar freed more than 600 coup detainees on Wednesday, including an Associated Press (AP) photographer arrested while covering rallies, following fresh outrage over brutal crackdowns on protesters.The regime has unleashed a deadly wave of violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the 1 February ouster and arrest of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The 75-year-old was due to have a court hearing on Wednesday in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw, on criminal charges that co

Myanmar activists planned more anti-coup protests on Wednesday, including a silent strike with many businesses due to close and calls for people to stay home, a day after a seven-year-old girl was killed in her home when security forces opened fire during a crackdown in Mandalay.Pro-democracy protesters also held more candle-lit vigils overnight including in a district of the commercial capital Yangon and in Thahton in Mon State.The vigils come after staff at a funeral service in Mandalay tol

Myanmar's junta on Tuesday defended its seven-week crackdown that has left more than 260 democracy protesters dead, insisting it would not tolerate "anarchy".The junta has unleashed deadly violence as it struggles to quell nationwide protests against the 1 February ousting of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.In a news conference in the capital Naypyidaw, junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun put the death toll lower at 164."I am sad because these violent terrorist

The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) slapped sanctions Monday on top police and military commanders linked to last month's coup in Myanmar, as pro-democracy demonstrators went back to the streets in defiance of a violent crackdown on protest.The junta is increasingly using deadly force to crush activists who have risen up against the military's ousting of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February.In a bid to pile international pressure on the regime, the European