Myanmar security forces raided a neighbourhood in the country’s largest city that is home to state railway workers who have gone on strike to protest against last month’s military coup. Police sealed off the Mingalar Taung Nyunt neighbourhood in Yangon where the Ma Hlwa Kone railway station and housing for railway workers are located. The raid comes just days after several Myanmar unions, including the Myanmar Railway Worker’s Union Federation, issued a joint call for a nationwide work stoppage. State railway workers were among the earliest organised supporters of the protest movement and their strike began soon after the coup. Police last month made an effort at intimidating railway workers in Mandalay, the country’s second-biggest city, by roaming through their housing area one night, shouting and randomly firing guns.

Source: Irish Independent March 10, 2021 10:30 UTC