Foreign Affairs

Police Injure Protesters With Excessive Force In Myanmar

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Law enforcement officials used rubber bullets and other projectiles against anti-coup protesters in near Mandalay, Myanmar, injuring at least three people Friday.

Two protesters were shot in the chest with rubber bullets and another sustained a leg injury, the Associated Press reported. Security forces deployed flashbang grenades and other munitions at a crowd of protesters gathered on a road near a park.

Residents found bullets, shell casings and projectiles on the streets and showed them to journalists, the AP reported. The injured were treated at a private clinic and the man who sustained a leg injury was seen in a cast from his foot to his knee.

Security forces fired off warning shots and hit their shields with batons while dispersing over 1,000 protesters earlier in the day Friday, the AP reported. Demonstrators were gathered outside a shopping mall chanting anti-coup phrases while security forces moved into the area with a water cannon.

Warning shots were fired as 50 riot police attempted to disperse the protesters while security forces chased demonstrators out of the area, the AP reported.

Supporters of the military coup attacked protesters with slingshots, metal rods and knives earlier on Thursday in Yangon while police forces stood by, the AP reported. Police responded in force to the Tarmwe neighborhood, deploying flashbangs and arresting several people who were protesting the military appointment of a new ward administrator.

Military generals overthrew the elected government on Feb. 1, the AP reported. Military officials say they will maintain control over the country for one year because the elected government failed to investigate claims of voter fraud.