First anti-coup protest erupts in Myanmar’s second city

First anti-coup protest erupts in Myanmar’s second city

Social media footage has shown people waving banners and chanting slogans outside a Mandalay university.

A convoy of army vehicles patrols the streets in Mandalay on Wednesday. (AP pic)
MANDALAY:
A group of protesters waved banners and chanted anti-coup slogans in Myanmar’s second city of Mandalay on Thursday in the first such street protest against this week’s army takeover, images on social media showed.

Video on Facebook showed around 20 people outside Mandalay Medical University. One banner read “People protest against military coup”.

“Our arrested leaders, release now, release now,” the protesters chanted.

Myanmar’s army seized power on Monday, overthrowing popular elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is detained and now faces possible charges for import infringements over the alleged possession of six unauthorised walkie-talkies.

Previous Myanmar juntas had a history of bloody suppression of street protests.

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