COMATOSE MYANMAR PROTESTER DIES IN HOSPITAL

A demonstrator shot by police in Myanmar has become the first official fatality in the protests against the military coup, Carola Frentzen reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The 20-year-old student succumbed to severe head injuries on Friday, the news portal Myanmar Now reported. Mya Thwet Thwet Khine had sought shelter from police water cannon behind a bus in the capital Naypyitaw on February 9 when a bullet hit her in the head.

A video circulated on social media showed the young woman suddenly falling to the ground. Doctors had stressed shortly afterwards that the injured woman was in extremely critical condition.

Photos posted to Twitter on Friday showed the body being brought out of hospital.

"I wish to tell all the people to keep participating in this movement until it is successful," said Mya Thwet Thwet Khine's sister, Mya Thadoe Nwe, in comments carried by Myanmar Now. Many users posted the slogan "I am Mya Thwet Thwet Khine" on social media in solidarity.

A European Union (EU) spokesperson expressed sympathies with Mya Thwet Thwet Khine's family and friends on Friday, and called on the country's security forces to refrain from violence against those "protesting the overthrow of their legitimate government." During a press briefing in Brussels, EU foreign affairs spokesperson Nabila Massrali called for "a return to democracy, the respect of fundamental rights, human rights and a peaceful, prosperous Myanmar."

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