Burmese forces fired live ammunition again and used tear gas on Tuesday against pro-democracy protesters, at least three of whom were in critical condition.
In Kale (north-west), "
about twenty people were injured
" by the police and the army who came to disperse a rally, a rescuer told AFP.
"
Three people, hit by live ammunition, are in critical condition
," said a doctor.
State television MRTV reported four injured police officers.
Read also: Bloody escalation in Burma
Hours earlier, a journalist, Kaung Myat Hlaing, was arrested at his home during a heavy-handed operation by the security forces, according to his employer Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).
Shots were heard during the arrest which the journalist himself filmed live and whose images were broadcast on social networks.
These new tensions come after a day of deadly repression Sunday with at least 18 protesters killed, according to the UN.
Protesters come under fire with tear gas canisters from the security forces.
STRINGER / REUTERS
For fear of reprisals, protesters were fewer in the streets Tuesday.
In Yangon, the economic capital, small groups formed, some protecting themselves behind makeshift barricades erected with tires, wooden panels and metal bars.
Security forces in number
In front of them, the security forces were deployed in numbers.
In Sanchaung, in the north of the city, their objective was clearly to "
clean up the neighborhood
", noted one resident, another reporting tear gas, rubber ammunition or stun grenades against the demonstrators.
The waves of arrests continue.
1,300 people were arrested on Sunday alone, according to MRTV.
More than 500 prisoners have been released, the channel added, without specifying whether they were common law detainees imprisoned before the February 1 putsch or political prisoners arrested since.
The demonstrators realize with their hands the symbol of the protest.
STR / AFP
Journalists find it increasingly difficult to exercise their profession.
26 have been arrested since the coup, according to Reporters Without Borders, 10 of whom are still in detention.
Others were targeted by rubber bullets, including two employees of the Chinese agency Xinhua.
Internet shutdowns, strengthening of the legislative arsenal, arrests, use of lethal force: the junta has continued to increase its repression since the coup d'état which overthrew the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Still held in secrecy in the capital Naypyidaw, the 75-year-old former leader is now charged with four counts: illegal importation of walkie-talkies, non-compliance with restrictions linked to the coronavirus, violation of a telecommunications law and incitement to public unrest.
She appeared "
in good health
" during a videoconference hearing held on Monday, according to her lawyer who has still not been allowed to meet with her.
“Free our leader Aung San Suu Kyi,” read the signs.
STR / AFP
"
No forgiveness
"
On Tuesday, hundreds of people gathered in a Yangon cemetery for the funeral of one of Sunday's victims, Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, who was shot dead by security forces.
“
There will be no forgiveness for you until the end of the world,
” sang the crowd, gathered in front of the 23-year-old student's flower-covered coffin.
The latter had posted a last message on social networks a few hours before his death: "
How many corpses does the UN need to act?
".
Security forces facing the demonstrators.
STR / AFP
The violence gives rise to a concert of international condemnations.
Burmese Ambassador to the United Nations Kyaw Moe Tun himself made a dramatic break with the putschist generals last week by calling for "
an end to the coup
".
He was removed from his post by the junta.
And Singapore, the first investor in Burma, raised the tone, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong telling the BBC that "
the use of lethal force (...) is simply not acceptable
".
The city-state's foreign minister spoke online Tuesday with his counterparts from Asean.
But the regional bloc, which has made non-interference in the internal affairs of a member state one of its golden rules, has not reached a consensus.
Beijing and Moscow, traditional allies of the Burmese army, also consider this crisis to be an "
internal affair
" of Burma.
The fifteen members of the UN Security Council, including China, plan to hold a new meeting on the country this week, according to diplomatic sources.
A barricade erected by the demonstrators.
STR / AFP
About thirty dead
There are around thirty dead in the ranks of the demonstrators since the putsch, according to the Burmese Association for Aid to Political Prisoners.
The junta, for its part, confirmed 11 deaths on the part of the protesters, assuring that they had asked the police not to use live ammunition.
The last popular uprisings of 1988 and 2007 were bloodily suppressed by the military.
The army, which is contesting the outcome of the November elections, which Aung San Suu Kyi's party won overwhelmingly, has promised a new ballot.
Asked, she did not respond to multiple requests from AFP to comment on these events.
