Burmese military drive into protesters, injuring three people
Eva Deschamps / December 5, 2021
Burmese soldiers drove a car into pro-democracy protesters in Rangoon on Sunday, injuring at least three people, eyewitnesses reported.
Despite the bloody crackdown on opponents of Burma's military junta that seized power in February, small pro-democracy demonstrations continue to take place regularly in the country. On Sunday morning, a group gathered peacefully on a Rangoon shopping street holding a banner with Aung San Suu Kyi's famous slogan Freedom from Fear while chanting, Give the power back to the people. Shortly after, a large car rammed into the protesters, hitting several of them as the rest scattered, a journalist on the scene reported. They sped up when they came upon the protesters, they ran into them, the journalist said on condition of anonymity.
Then the soldiers jumped out of the car and started shooting, he continued. One man covered in blood, apparently in serious condition, and two others injured, including a Burmese journalist who was covering the demonstration, were evacuated by ambulance.
According to another witness, the soldiers also hit three people on the ground after they were hit by the vehicle. Then the soldiers pointed their guns at us and ordered all passers-by to leave, he added. Burma has been in chaos since the February 1 military coup that ended a 10-year democratic transition. In ten months, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed, according to a local NGO, the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), which reports cases of torture and extra-judicial executions.