Myanmar military surround striking railway staff’s compound amid protest crackdown (PHOTOS)

Security forces surrounded the offices of railway staff in Myanmar in the latest military crackdown on protestors, as a general strike rages on with businesses closed in opposition to the February 1 coup.

On Wednesday morning, witnesses shared photographs on social media showing security forces around the compound, preparing to move in and arrest the rail workers who have participated in the general strike.

Authorities blocked off the neighborhood in Yangon, surrounding the train station and housing for rail workers, days after a number of Myanmar unions, including the Railway Workers’ Union, publicly backed a “full, extended shutdown of the Myanmar economy.”

While it’s not been confirmed, protesters claimed the military attempted to remove barricades they had erected and threatened to shoot at individuals if they did not disperse.

Crackdowns were also reported in other parts of the country, with one individual posting CCTV footage on Twitter that referred to the military as the “junta’s terrorists” who “destroyed everything in sight” after demonstrators in Mandalay held a sit-in protest. 

The clashes on Wednesday occurred 24 hours after an official, Zaw Myat Linn, who was a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, was found dead in police custody – the second political figure to die in two days.

The latest actions from Myanmar’s military came after the UN Security Council failed to agree on a statement that would have condemned the coup, choosing only to threaten “further measures” if the military did not show restraint.

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