Reuters, Yangon :
Rubbish piled up on the streets of Myanmar’s main city on Tuesday (March 30) after activists launched a “garbage strike” to oppose military rule as the toll of pro-democracy protesters killed by the security forces since a Feb 1 coup rose to more than 500.
Out of 14 civilians killed in Myanmar on Monday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said at least eight were in the South Dagon district of Yangon.
Security forces in the area fired a much heavier-calibre weapon than usual on Monday to clear a barricade of sand bags, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear what type of weapon was used.
State television said security forces used “riot weapons” to disperse a crowd of “violent terrorist people” who were destroying a pavement and one man was wounded.
A South Dagon resident on Tuesday said more gunfire could be heard in the area overnight raising concerns of more casualties.
“There was shooting all night,” said the resident who declined to be identified.
Residents found a badly burned body on a street in the morning, the resident said, adding it was not known what had happened to the person and the military took the body away.
Police and a junta spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Myanmar’s generals to stop the killings and repression of demonstrations.
In a new tactic, protesters sought to step up a civil disobedience campaign on Tuesday by asking residents to throw garbage onto streets on key road intersections.
“This garbage strike is a strike to oppose the junta,” read a poster on social media.
The move comes in defiance of calls issued via loudspeakers in some neighbourhoods of Yangon on Monday urging residents to dispose of garbage properly.
Rebel groups warn military
At least 510 civilians had been killed in nearly two months of efforts to stop protests, advocacy group AAPP said.
The total killed on Saturday, the bloodiest day so far, had risen to 141, its figures showed.
