Civilians dead after Myanmar security forces ram car into protest
At least five demonstrators were killed in Yangon where anti-coup protests still continue after the military toppled the civilian government on February 1.
Some people were seriously injured with head wounds and unconscious, according to the witnesses.
Five people have reportedly been killed and at least 15 arrested after Myanmar security forces in a car rammed into an anti-coup protest in Yangon.
Witnesses on the scene told Reuters news agency dozens had been injured in the incident on Sunday.
Photos and videos on social media show a vehicle that crashed through the protesters and bodies lying on the road.
On Sunday, a "flash mob" protest in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, was rammed minutes after it started, and witnesses told Reuters police arrested several people.
"I got hit and fell down in front of a truck. A soldier beat me with his rifle but I defended and pushed him back. Then he immediately shot at me as I ran away in a zig-zag pattern. Fortunately, I escaped," a protester who asked not to be identified for security reasons told Reuters by phone.
A civilian car occupied by soldiers hit the mob from the back, two witnesses said, and followed the scattered protesters arresting and beating them.
Some were seriously injured with head wounds and unconscious, according to the witnesses.
A spokesman for the ruling junta did not answer calls seeking comment on Sunday.
READ MORE: Myanmar forces 'deliberately' killed dozens of anti-coup protesters
Continuing unrest
Another protest was held in Yangon in the afternoon despite the morning violence.
Anti-military protests are continuing despite the killing of more than 1,300 people since the February 1 coup.
The scattered protests are often small groups voicing opposition to the overthrow of an elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the return of military rule.
The military says it staged the coup because a November election won by Suu Kyi's party was rigged.
Wars with ethnic minority insurgents in remote frontier regions in the north and east have intensified significantly since the coup, displacing tens of thousands of civilians, according to United Nations estimates.
Suu Kyi, 76, faces a dozen cases against her including incitement and violations of Covid-19 protocols.
She has rejected all the charges to date.
READ MORE: UN rights chief warns of 'alarming' risk of civil war in Myanmar
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