UN expert fears violence as troops sent to Myanmar city

'The world marches with you today,' UN special rapporteur tells people of Myanmar

Demonstrators hold up placards supporting the 'civil disobedience movement' (CDM) in front of an armoured vehicle during a protest outside the Central Bank in Yangon, Myanmar. EPA

A military armored vehicle is seen driving along with traffic on a road in Yangon, Myanmar. Getty

An armored personnel carrier is deployed outside the Central Bank building in Yangon, Myanmar. AP

Myanmar's military junta on 15 February cut Internet services and deployed troops and armoured vehicles across the country. EPA

A policeman holding a shield stands guard in front of Yangon City Hall during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar. EPA

Demonstrators hold up placards in front of an armoured vehicle during a protest outside the Central Bank in Yangon, Myanmar. EPA

Soldiers stand guard in front of banners calling for the release of Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint during a protest outside the Central Bank in Yangon, Myanmar. EPA

Armoured vehicles drive along a road in Yangon, Myanmar. EPA

Demonstrators hold up placards supporting the CDM during a protest outside the Central Bank in Yangon, Myanmar. EPA

Demonstrators hold up placards supporting the CDM in Yangon, Myanmar. EPA

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”.

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