A 20-year-old man was shot and killed after regime forces fired on civilians in a residential area of Yangon’s South Dagon township on Friday afternoon, according to eyewitnesses.
The incident occurred following a crackdown on an anti-coup sit-in protest in the township’s Ward 22 that also left a 14-year-old boy wounded.
Myo Lay, 20, died almost instantly after sustaining a gunshot to the head that shattered his skull, witnesses told Myanmar Now.
He reportedly arrived at the scene after force had been deployed to scatter protesters in the area.
“He came later with some other young people in the ward who showed up to support the protesters. He was shot while he was retreating,” a witness said.
“His eyeball was shot right out,” the witness added.
In a video circulating on Facebook, the victim is seen lying on the ground with his face and head covered in blood. He can be seen showing slight signs of movement.
According to witnesses, around 50 members of the junta’s forces descended on the sit-in protest at around 4pm, using stun grenades, rubber bullets and live ammunition.
They were later joined by additional forces who began shooting indiscriminately as they entered the residential neighbourhood.
Around 20 protesters and 10 local residents were arrested, witnesses said, adding that specific addresses provided by informants were targeted in the sweep.
No details about the injured boy were available.
Anti-military protesters said it was impossible to follow the movement of the junta’s forces in Yangon due to the shutdown of mobile internet connections.
At least eight people were killed in Aungban, a town in southern Shan state, on Friday during another day of brutal assaults on unarmed protesters around the country.
In Loikaw, the capital of Kayah state, a 46-year-old man was also killed by regime forces, local sources reported.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates that at least 224 civilians have been killed so far in the junta’s campaign to crush pro-democracy demonstrations.
