MYANMAR MILITARY RELEASES 600 DETAINED PROTESTERS, JOURNALIST

The military now in control of Myanmar has released more than 600 anti-coup protesters, according to state television and local media outlets on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, Bo Han and Carola Frentzen reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The protesters were mostly students who had been detained at police stations and in prisons after protesting against the coup, Eleven Myanmar and Myanmar Now reported. According to the non-profit prisoner's assistance organization AAPP, at least 275 people have been killed and 2,812 people have been detained.

Thein Zaw, a journalist for the Associated Press (AP), was also released after two court hearings, AP said. Demonstrators staged a so-called "silent strike" on Wednesday, with protesters staying home and many businesses closing around the country.

Streets were empty and businesses closed in many cities, and few vehicles were seen in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. "This is another way to fight [the military]. I can be silent to show how we are rejecting them," a protester from Tamwe township in Yangon told dpa.

The United Nations sharply condemned the violence and also said it was "deeply concerned about the continued use of force against children."According to UNICEF, at least 23 children have been killed in the violence since the coup. On Wednesday, the UN Council on Human Rights in Geneva called for a resolution to hold all those involved in human rights abuses in Myanmar to account.

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