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

Security forces in Myanmar shot dead an anti-coup protester Sunday, as the Australian government confirmed it is assisting two nationals who were detained after trying to leave Yangon.

Myanmar's ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces fresh corruption charges from the ruling junta that her lawyer said Thursday were "groundless" but could ensure she would never be able to return to politics.The 1 February coup that toppled Suu Kyi's government has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to confront the generals, who have responded with a brutal crackdown that has left at least 200 dead.The new military regime has already issued several crimin

Chinese factories torched as mainland workers hunker down under martial law - Beijing is being pulled into the ulcerous crisis in Myanmar, an unravelling country it had carefully stitched into its big plans for Asia.During a January 2020 visit to Myanmar, Chinese President Xi Jinping elevated the Southeast Asian neighbour to "country of shared destiny" status, Beijing's highest diplomatic stripe.The aim was to nudge Myanmar decisively towards China - and away from the United St

Dressed in his army uniform, Shing Ling flashes a three-finger salute for defiant social media posts after deserting Myanmar’s military to join the democracy movement.The 30-year-old soldier posted the image on Facebook last week as security forces were staging increasingly lethal crackdowns against protesters. It racked up more than one thousand shares as commenters praised his bravery, before his profile went private.Since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from p

The international community pleaded for restraint Monday after at least 11 more anti-coup protesters were killed in Myanmar, as demonstrators returned to the streets to demand restored democracy despite an increasingly bloody crackdown by the military junta.The United Nations (UN), the United States (US), China and Britain all condemned the violence, which the UN said has claimed the lives of at least 138 "peaceful protesters" - including women and children - since the generals oust