Myanmar death toll mounts amid protests, military crackdown

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Security forces in central Myanmar have opened fire on anti-coup protesters, killing at least two, amid mounting violence since the country’s Feb. 1 military takeover. According to social media posts, government forces fired at demonstrators in Monywa city in central Myanmar on Saturday. A human rights group called the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says violence since the coup has left 550 civilians dead, including 46 children. Threats of lethal force and arrests of protesters have failed to suppress daily demonstrations across Myanmar demanding the military step down and reinstate the democratically elected government. The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades languished under strict military rule