At least 18 people were shot dead and dozens more injured in cities across Myanmar during lethal crackdowns by soldiers and police on anti-coup protesters on Wednesday, making it clear that the military regime is waging an all-out war against its own people in an effort to restore the full-blown Orwellian state it existed as for many decades.
It is tied with Sunday as being the deadliest day of demonstrations since protests began after the February 1 coup.
Myanmar Now spoke to sources in five cities, but there were also reports of shootings and arrests in towns and cities around the country.
Mandalay
In Mandalay, security forces killed a 37-year-old man and 19-year-old woman in a crackdown on demonstrations that used live ammunition and stun grenades.
The victims have been identified as Myo Naing Lin, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, and Kyel Sin, who was shot in the side of her head, emergency workers and family members told Myanmar Now.
At least 11 people were also injured in the shootings by security forces, according to medics on the ground. Of those injured, two are in critical condition, having suffered gunshots to the forehead and to the back.
Monywa
In the town of Monywa in Sagaing Region, seven people were killed and an estimated 70 were injured after security forces attacked them with live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas.
The identities of four of the casualties were known at the time of reporting: 26-year-old Kyawt Nandar Aung, 23-year-old Moe Aung, 37-year-old Myint Myint Sein and 17-year-old Min Khant Kyaw. There was also a 45-year-old man who was shot and killed but whose name had not been released.
Two of the victims were shot in the head: Kyawt Nandar Aung and Moe Aung.
Further details of the victims were unavailable, as well as the identity of the remaining two.
One of the protesters told Myanmar Now in a phone interview that security forces in a police truck took away two bodies of people who had been shot dead in the attack.
“Two other dead bodies soaked in blood were taken away by dogs,” he said, referring to police and soldiers.
Myingyan
In the town of Myingyan in central Myanmar, 22-year-old Zin Ko Ko Thaw died from a gunshot wound to the head and at least 15 other people were injured during the crackdown on a protest of tens of thousands of local residents.
A Myingyan local told Myanmar Now that around 150 soldiers and police had violently broken up the demonstration without any warning.
“It was so sudden, like a military operation. No warnings for the crackdown at all,” he said.
Mawlamyine
The Mawlamyine-based Than Lwin Times reported that 19-year-old bystander Htet Wai Htoo was killed this afternoon after being shot in the head with a live bullet by security forces who entered his neighbourhood.
He was pronounced brain-dead and died of the injury, according to the Than Lwin Times.
Yangon
Meanwhile in Yangon, police and soldiers killed at least seven protesters with live ammunition during a crackdown in North Okkalapa township, some 18 kilometers from downtown Yangon.
Wednesday marked the first deadly crackdown in this area of the city by the security forces after similar attacks were carried out at other major protest sites, including Hledan and Sanchaung.
Two of the victims have been identified as 19-year-old Htet Aung and 20-year-old Min Oo, according to a doctor from a nearby private hospital who helped treat those wounded in the crackdown.
Htet Aung was pronounced dead from a gunshot to the chest upon arrival at the hospital, while Min Oo, who was shot in the lower abdomen, died of his injuries later in the afternoon.
Four people were pronounced dead upon arrival at the North Okkalapa public hospital, and another person died after being admitted for treatment, according to an emergency room doctor from the hospital.
The doctor said that there had been a total of 16 people injured and admitted to the public hospital.
No further details were available at the time of reporting.
Even though there are reports of more deaths in Yangon, at the time of reporting, Myanmar Now could independently verify only seven deaths.
CCTV footage that went viral on social media on Wednesday showed several police officers brutally beating three medics with batons and the butts of their shotguns. Medics had arrived in the area of the crackdown at around noon to treat those injured in the shootings.
Hla Kyaing, the chair of Mon Myat Seikhtar emergency rescue team, said that four members of his team, including the driver of their ambulance van, went missing after the incident.
“It is unbearable,” Hla Kyaing said of the security forces’ actions, adding that he was afraid that other medics would be discouraged from intervening to help protesters in the future.
According to an Assistance Association for Political Prisoners report on Tuesday, more than 30 people have been killed and 1,200 arrested for opposing the coup since the military seized power.
