UK, US sanction Myanmar junta entities as five killed by security forces

Thousands of people held protests against last month's coup in the commercial capital Yangon

(Reuters) - The United States and Britain imposed sanctions on military-controlled conglomerates in Myanmar on Thursday as security forces were reported to have killed five more pro-democracy protesters in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent.

Thousands of people held protests against last month s coup in the commercial capital Yangon, central Monywa city, and several other towns on Thursday, according to witnesses and social media posts.

"Are we united? Yes we are," protesters shouted in Monywa. "The revolution must prevail."

Myanmar has been rocked by almost daily protests since the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi s elected government on Feb. 1 and installed a junta led by generals. Suu Kyi and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) are being held in detention.

At least 286 people have been killed in the subsequent crackdown as of Wednesday evening, according to figures compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group.

"Conditions in Myanmar are deteriorating," Thomas Andrews, special U.N. rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said in a statement.

"But they will likely get much worse without an immediate, robust, international response in support of those under siege," he said, calling for an emergency international summit on the crisis.

In Washington, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions targeting Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (ed. correct) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited.

Both are part of a vast military-controlled network which spans a variety of sectors from mining to tourism and has enriched the generals.

In a move coordinated with the United States, Britain said it would target Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd, citing serious human rights violations against civilians and its association with senior military figures.

"Today s sanctions target the military s financial interests to help drain the sources of finance for their campaigns of repression against civilians," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement.

Earlier U.S. sanctions had hit individuals linked to the coup, while junta leader and army commander General Min Aung Hlaing was already under restrictions due to earlier human rights issues.

The European Union also announced sanctions on 11 individuals on Monday and is expected to target the conglomerates soon.

The moves bring concrete action against the generals on top of statements of condemnation from many foreign governments.

But the U.N. s Andrews said the diplomatic response to the situation was slow and "out of step with the scale of the crisis".

ON THE STREETS AGAIN

Protests against the miitary resumed on Thursday after a silent strike on Wednesday left normally bustling areas of commercial hubs like Yangon and Monywa virtually deserted.

Four people were killed in the central town of Taunggyi when security forces opened fire on a demonstration, Myanmar Now media outlet said. One person was killed in a protest in Mohnyin town in the north, it said.

Other media outlets reported at least seven protesters were wounded when security forces opened fire in other towns. Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

A military spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment on the rapporteur s statement and the deaths.

Nant Khi Phyu Aye, one of those on the street, said many of the protesters were youngsters.

"They want to protest every day without skipping one day," she told Reuters.

While the scale of the protests had dropped in recent days, activists had called for big demonstrations on Thursday.

Candle-lit vigils took place across the country again overnight, photographs on social media showed.

Five more people were wounded overnight in Mandalay, Myanmar Now said, and a 16-year-old man died after being shot in the back.

SINGAPORE, INDONESIA  DISTRESSED 

Although the junta has shown little sign of reversing its actions, on Wednesday it freed hundreds of people who had been rounded up in the crackdown.

There was no word from authorities on how many prisoners were released, but AAPP said 628 were freed on Wednesday out of more than 2,900 arrested since the coup. About 1,000 people had been freed in all, it said.

Among those released was Polish photojournalist Robert Bociaga, who was arrested in Taunggyi two weeks ago. He said in a message that he was leaving Myanmar on Thursday.

The junta has tried to justify its coup by saying a Nov. 8 election won by Suu Kyi s NLD was fraudulent - an accusation the electoral commission has rejected. Military leaders have promised a new election but have not set a date and have declared a state of emergency.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her campaign to bring democratic civilian rule to Myanmar, has been in detention since the coup and faces charges that her lawyer says have been cooked up to discredit her.

Singapore s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan met his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta on Thursday and said both countries were "very distressed" by the situation in Myanmar. He had visited Malaysia and Brunei earlier in the week.

Malaysia and Indonesia are seeking an urgent meeting of Southeast Asia s ASEAN regional grouping, of which Myanmar is a member, to discuss the crisis.