The UN expert on human rights in Myanmar warned of the prospect for major violence as demonstrators on Wednesday prepared to gather again to protest against the military's power grab.
UN rapporteur Tom Andrews said he had received reports of soldiers being transported into Yangon, the biggest city, from outlying regions.
"In the past, such troop movements preceded killings, disappearances, and detentions on a mass scale," he said.
“I am terrified that given the confluence of these two developments – planned mass protests and troops converging – we could be on the precipice of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar.”
More protests were expected on Wednesday all over the country despite the possibility of violence by the army and police.
Myanmar’s military leaders are struggling to gain control of the streets since ousting the government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won a landslide victory in November elections. She has urged the country’s 55 million people to oppose the army’s move, calling it “an attempt to bring the nation back under the military dictatorship”.
Many outraged people of Myanmar will converge in Yangon today to oppose the junta and its sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi & Pres Win Myint. They have a right to do so without the threat of detention or violence at the hands of the Tatmadaw. The world marches with you today! pic.twitter.com/603BVaj9Ld
— UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews (@RapporteurUn) February 17, 2021
Ms Suu Kyi and other political leaders are among more than 400 people detained since the coup, a number that rises by the day. While authorities have largely avoided confronting protesters in major cities who have ignored a ban on public gatherings, several demonstrators were injured in crackdowns, including a woman shot in the head who is now on life support in Naypyidaw, the capital.
Ms Suu Kyi is in detention awaiting a court hearing on Wednesday, Reuters reported
Watch: Tanks on the streets of Myanmar
