Myanmar Security Forces Raid Homes of Striking Railway Workers

What Happened:

• On Wednesday, Myanmar security forces raided the homes of state railway workers who have gone on strike to protest February’s military coup.

• Police closed off an entire neighborhood in the Yangon region in which housing for railway workers is located. At least three people were arrested during the raid.

• The raid comes a few days after the Railway Workers Union announced a strike with the ultimate intention of shutting down Myanmar’s economy.

• Protests have been ongoing in Myanmar for several weeks since the military staged a coup on Feb 1 and arrested the democratically elected officials. Police and military response has become increasingly violent and often lethal over the last several weeks with at least 30 protester deaths to date.

• The protesters do not wish to return to military rule and demand the release and return to power for the democratically elected officials.

• The democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest since the coup.

• The military claims that there was widespread fraud in the election and uses that as justification for the coup.

• Myanmar, which spent five decades under military rule, had recently undergone a democratic transition and elected Aung San Suu Kyi as leader as well as given the majority of the seats in parliament to Kyi's National League for Democracy Party.

• Other nations, including the US, have condemned the coup saying that the outcome of the recent elections should be respected. President Biden also placed sanctions on Myanmar.

Photo Source: youtube.com

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