Bomb blasts and flash protests as Myanmar enters fourth month under junta
02 May, 2021
Explosions blasted off throughout Myanmar's most significant city Yangon on Saturday (May 1) as protesters held flash marches for democracy, defying a brutal junta that has held onto power for three blood-drenched months.
The country has been around an uproar since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1, bringing an abrupt end to Myanmar's short-lived experiment with democracy.
The power grab triggered an enormous uprising, which authorities have tried to quell by deploying lethal force and live ammunition.
As Myanmar entered its fourth month under military rule on Saturday, protesters in commercial hub Yangon - an epicentre of unrest with a heavy security presence - staged flash demonstrations, marching rapidly through the streets to avoid confrontation with police and soldiers.
"We have the reality. Only the truth will prevail," read a banner that protesters hoisted up because they marched quickly through a neighbourhood, flashing the three-finger salute of defiance.
In Yangon's Insein township, a bomb blast went off around 10am near a local school, said a resident staying nearby.
"Some security forces came to check the blast area, but I only watched from a distance from my home because I was worried they might arrest me," he told AFP, adding that he saw smoke rising.
By afternoon, another two blasts went off in Yankin, further south, according to locals residing in the leafy residential township.
"I heard it from my place, I thought it was thunder," a resident told AFP, adding that the explosions left the security forces nervous.
It remains unclear if anyone was injured by the blasts.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the bombs - which are exploding with increasing frequency in Yangon.
"They (the junta) have made people live in fear and it is good to have them on edge as well," the Yankin resident said.
He also praised the flash protesters for his or her ingenuity to evade arrest and crackdowns.
"Any show of defiance without getting captured or killed is great for the resistance."
Nearly 760 civilians have already been killed in the anti-coup unrest, according to an area monitoring group, although junta has recorded a less death toll.
Deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest because the military detained her on Feb 1.
The junta has hit her with a barrage of charges, including sedition and Myanmar's state secrets law.
Coup-maker Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has continuously justified the putsch as essential to protect democracy, alleging fraud in November's election, which Aung San Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide.
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