Protesters have taken to the streets for a fifth consecutive day in Myanmar, demanding the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The crowds demonstrating against the military takeover, defied a ban on gatherings more than five persons, even as security forces raided the national headquarters and the police used force to disperse the protesters.
The military said it ousted Suu Kyi as the November elections that she won by a landslide was fraudulent. The police used water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters in Naypyitaw and Mandalay on Tuesday.
The UN and the US condemned the police's use of force against the protesters. On Tuesday, as the police tried to disperse protesters in the capital city of Naypyitaw, a woman was shot. Warning shots were fired in the air.
The woman, who was shot in the head is in critical condition. The protesters have also defied an 8 pm to 4 am curfew imposed by the military.
The spokesman for the United States Department of State Ned Price said on Tuesday that the US would review assistance to Myanmar so that those responsible for the coup face significant consequences. In Kayah, a state in eastern Myanmar, on Wednesday, dozens of policemen were seen joining the protests. Young women in Yangon were spotted protesting as they wore ball gowns and sitting in inflatable tubs.
