YANGON: Anti-coup demonstrators returned to the streets of Myanmar Saturday, a day after a United Nations envoy urged the Security Council to hear the nation's "desperate pleas" and take swift action to restore democracy.
The country has been in turmoil since a February 1 putsch ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power, triggering a massive uprising from hundreds of thousands angered to be returned to military rule.
Security forces have escalated an increasingly brutal crackdown on demonstrators -- killing more than 50 people since the coup -- but protesters rallied again on Saturday.
From the dusty roads of northern Lashio -- where young protesters stared down police behind homemade shields -- to central Loikaw city in view of Myanmar's eastern mountains, demonstrators continued to march for democracy.
"Our revolution must win," chanted protesters in Loikaw, who included civil servants such as teachers in their green and white uniforms. The country's vital sectors have been crippled by an ongoing "Civil Disobedience Movement" -- a campaign urging civil servants to boycott working under a military regime.
The impact has been felt at every level of the national infrastructure, with shuttered hospitals, empty ministry offices, and banks unable to operate. On Saturday, state-run media announced that if civil servants continued to boycott work, "they will be fired" with immediate effect from March 8. But protesters in Myanmar's commercial hub of Yangon continued to defy authorities, gathering especially in San Chaung -- a once-buzzing township with cafes, restaurants and bars that has emerged as a hotspot for unrest.
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