Protests after Myanmar junta cuts internet, deploys troops

Myanmar's junta cut the nation's internet and deployed extra troops around the country on Feb. 15 as it intensified a crackdown on anti-coup protests, but defiant demonstrators again took to the streets.

The military has steadily escalated efforts to quell an uprising against their seizure of power two weeks ago, which saw civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained along with hundreds, including members of her democratically elected government.

With protesters refusing to back down, the generals imposed an hours-long internet shutdown on Feb. 15 morning and ratcheted up the military's presence across the country.

Extra troops were seen in key locations of Yangon, the nation's commercial hub and biggest city, including armored personnel carriers near the central bank.

Live video streams on social media platforms before the blackout showed more military vehicles and soldiers moving through other parts of the country.

However, fresh protests again flared in Yangon on Feb. 15 morning, including near the central bank.

Hundreds of engineering and technology students protested in a northern district of the city, according to an AFP journalist.

There was a fresh rally in the southern city of Dawei too, a verified live stream on Facebook showed, with hundreds of protesters accompanied by a marching band.

Some carried banners against the military that read: "They kill in (the) day. They steal at night. They lie on TV."

Monitoring group NetBlocks reported that a "state-ordered information blackout" had taken Myanmar almost entirely offline, but services began resuming around the start of the working day.

"Network data show national connectivity rising to ordinary levels after information blackout,"...