Myanmar street protests drag on a day after junta's bloody crackdown

Protesters have held a pre-dawn demonstration in Myanmar’s second largest city a day after eight demonstrators were killed in a brutal crackdown by the military junta.

People took to the streets in Mandalay on Monday. More protests are planned for the day against the military coup across the country.

Myanmar has been convulsed by mass rallies and strikes since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi last month, and arrested her and several other political leaders over election fraud allegations.

More than 2,600 people have been arrested and 250 killed, according to the local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which warns fatalities could even be higher.

Scores of people, including teachers, marched through the streets of Mandalay, some carrying placards, calling for the United Nations to intervene and resolve the crisis.

There were also early morning protests in parts of Yangon, the commercial capital of Myanmar.

Buddhist monks, who have joined the protests in recent days, held an evening candlelight ceremony on Sunday.

In one neighborhood in the city, persistent gunfire was reported until late in the evening.

Meanwhile, activists urged people on social media to join a car convoy protest through the day.

They want vehicles to drive through intersections honking horns while occupants display three-finger anti-coup salutes.

International pressure is mounting on the junta to stop the crackdown and restore power to the civilian government.

On Monday, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will visit Brunei— this year’s chair of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He will later travel to Malaysia and Indonesia, reports said.

His visit follows a call last week by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on ASEAN leaders to hold a high-level meeting to try and solve the escalating crisis in Myanmar.

In a new bid to step up pressure on the junta, European Union foreign ministers are also expected to approve sanctions against 11 military officials on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Australian and Canadian governments have confirmed they are providing consular assistance to two business consultants detained in Myanmar.

They said Matthew O'Kane and Christa Avery are under house arrest after trying to leave the country on a relief flight on Friday.

The couple runs a consultancy business in Yangon.

The Canadian and Australian foreign ministries did not provide further information on the case.

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