JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Estimates of the number of protesters killed by police Wednesday in Myanmar surged through the day as protesters and their supporters assessed casualties to opponents of the Myanmar military coup after police and soldiers opened fire and violently broke up multiple marches and strikes across the country. Initial estimates early afternoon local time said up to 10 people had been killed, but estimates after midnight local time were putting the toll at over fifty. Law students reporting to JURIST from Myanmar sent myriad graphic pictures of bodies and casualties and other images showing fires and confrontations between protesters and police, as the situation on the ground deteriorated more than it had even on Sunday, when over 20 people were reportedly killed in police action.

Violence in Myingyan Township near Mandalay and in North Oakkalapa Township, Yangon was particularly bloody, with multiple deaths reported in each location. Law students reporting for JURIST in Yangon said that sporadic gunfire could still be heard in North Oakkalapa Township well after midnight local time. Videos from Monywa showed troops and police hauling bodies off a street area as they would a battlefield. Local hospitals have taken in multiple casualties, but some ambulance workers intercepted by police were viciously beaten and some ambulances were intentionally damaged. Our law student correspondents say that some doctors have gone into hiding. 

The reported dead are mostly young people and students, both men and women. In Mandalay and other locations, our law student correspondents are telling JURIST that protesters (including in some cases they themselves) plan to go back out into the streets Thursday morning despite today’s deadly crackdowns.