Home ›› 09 Mar 2021 ›› World Biz
Hundreds of Myanmar protesters who had been trapped overnight by security forces have now been able to get out.
Around 200 people in a district of Yangon had on Monday been blocked from leaving a four-street area in the Sanchaung area of the city on Monday.
According to United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres, many of those trapped had been women who were marching in support of International Women's Day.
Explosions were heard from the area, believed to be made by stun grenades.
The UN had appealing to the military for their "safe release", with Guterres urging "maximum restraint".
Early on Tuesday, one protester told the BBC that he was able to leave at around 06:30 local time (00:00 GMT). He said security forces had left the area early in the morning.
He added that 40 people were arrested overnight, but the rest of them remained hidden until the morning and were able to leave.
Another protester tweeted on Tuesday morning that she had "arrived home safe...[after being] at a place in Sanchaung the entire night", adding that "all who were hiding with me are safe".
Mass protests have been seen across Myanmar since the military seized power on 1 February.
More than 54 people have been killed by security forces in demonstrations so far.
'Free the students'
Myanmar police had on Monday been raiding houses in the area looking for people who were from outside the district.
Residents and a local news service claimed on Facebook that at least 20 people had been arrested in the raids.
Reports later emerged that security forces had surrounded a group of young people in the Sanchaung neighbourhood - with explosions heard from the area.
Activist Maung Saungkha said on Twitter late on Monday that she managed to "escape" Sanchaung, but added that "almost 200 young protesters are blocked by police and soldiers there".
In Yangon, huge numbers of people gathered on the streets, defying a curfew, in an attempt to distract security forces. They were heard chanting: "Free the students in Sanchaung."
Security forces fired guns and used stun grenades in an attempt to disperse them, Reuters news agency reports.
It's thought that three people died in demonstrations across the country on Monday.
Protesters have been taking to the streets for the past month calling for an end to military rule and the release of the country's elected government leaders - including Aung San Suu Kyi - who were overthrown and detained in the coup.
Separately on Monday, the military government revoked the publishing licenses of five local news outlets - Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News - that had been widely covering the protests.
In a statement on Facebook, Mizzima said it would defy this ban, adding that it would "continue to fight against the military coup by publishing and broadcasting through multimedia platforms".
Just before the government's announcement, Myanmar Now reported that its office in downtown Yangon had been raided by soldiers and police.
They added that computers, printers and parts of the newsroom's data server had been seized. One of the news agency's reporters was arrested while livestreaming a protest in Yangon last month.
(BBC)
