UPDATE - Shooting Reported As Police Disperse Anti-Coup Student Protest In Southern Myanmar

BANGKOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2021) Myanmar police have opened fire while dispersing an anti-coup student protest in the fourth-largest city of Mawlamyine, and detained 14 activists, media reported on Friday.

According to the Thai-based Irrawaddy news website, students who gathered outside a local university campus demonstrated peacefully. The media outlet did not specify whether there were any casualties in the shooting.

The day before, police entered the Mawlamyine University campus and searched the premises used by a local student union.

A large group of students and teachers, who have joined the civil disobedience movement, are currently holding a sit-in on the university's premises. According to the portal, the police have completely surrounded the campus.

Meanwhile, protests are also underway in the cities of Naypyitaw, Yangon and Mandalay.

On February 1, Myanmar faced a coup as the military arrested State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other top officials after accusing them of election fraud. The military declared a state of emergency for one year, pledging to hold a new election after it expires.

The UN Human Rights Council is holding a special session "the Human Rights Implications of the Crisis in Myanmar" on Friday after a joint request by the United Kingdom and the European Union. A draft resolution, seen by Sputnik, calls for releasing all those detained and lifting the state of emergency.