Protesters hit the streets across Myanmar on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of 1962 student protests against the country's first junta, vowing defiance against its latest incarnation more than five months after it seized power.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the generals ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February, with pro-democracy protests met by a brutal military crackdown that has killed more than 880, according to a local monitoring group.

The economy is in freefall with thousands of civil servants and doctors on strike and coronavirus cases in the impoverished country spiking.

Around one hundred protesters moved quickly through the commercial capital Yangon early Wednesday, AFP reporters said, to mark the 1962 Yangon university protests against the first imposition of military rule in Myanmar.

Hundreds were killed by troops and thousands disappeared in a brutal crackdown many see being repeated almost seven decades later.

"Let's root out the fascist army," they chanted, as some let off smoke bombs in orange and blue.

"Keep the spirit of July 7 and fight the military dictatorship."

Two minutes later they had gone — scattering quickly down side streets or jumping into waiting cars — informants have tipped off police to previous flashmobs and protesters have been arrested.

Dozens also gathered in the second city of Mandalay holding signs and in the central Sagaing region, protesters burned an army flag, images on local media showed.

Myanmar has been ruled almost continually by the military since 1962, just over a decade since independence from Britain.

It emerged from outright military rule in 2011, enacting economic and political reforms, including multiparty elections.

Suy Kyi's National League for Democracy won a thumping majority in elections in 2015 and again in 2020, relegating the main military-backed party to the opposition.

Protests that drew hundreds of thousands onto the streets in February and March have given way to more nimble rallies in the face of a brutal crackdown that has seen security forces use semi-automatic weapons on protesters.

The junta has justified its power seizure as a means to protect democracy, alleging electoral fraud in November elections which Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide.

Myanmar junta commiting 'crimes against humanity': UN expert
Geneva (AFP) July 7, 2021 –

Myanmar's military has carried out crimes against humanity since seizing power in February, a top UN rights expert said on Wednesday, slamming the international community for failing to "end this nightmare".

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, Thomas Andrews, the special rapporteur on the rights situation in Myanmar, decried the "widespread, systematic attacks against the people" since the coup five months ago.

Myanmar has experienced mass protests and a brutal military response since the February 1 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi.

UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet told the council on Tuesday that the situation in the country had "evolved from a political crisis to a multi-dimensional human rights catastrophe".

"Suffering and violence throughout the country are devastating prospects for sustainable development, and raise the possibility of state failure or a broader civil war," she warned.

Since the coup, nearly 900 people have been killed, while about 200,000 have been forced to flee their homes, according to UN numbers.

At the same time, at least 5,200 people had been arbitrarily arrested, including more than 90 journalists.

Andrews accused the military authorities of torture, "including torturing people in custody to death."

Some of the acts, he said, "amount to crimes against humanity", lamenting the fact that more had not been done to rein in the violations.

"The international community is failing the people of Myanmar."

– 'Rein of terror' –

Andrews said the military had cut off food, water and medicine to those displaced by its attacks on villages.

It had "taken family members hostage when its forces are unable to find those with outstanding arrest warrants," recently arresting a four-year-old child, he said.

But the international community so far had failed to take the actions needed to bring the violations to a halt, he said.

The people of Myanmar "desperately need the support of the international community before it is too late".

"Some in Myanmar have lost hope that help from the international community will be forthcoming and have instead sought to defend themselves through the formation of defence forces and acts of sabotage," he added.

"This trend could escalate quickly and the junta's pattern of the use of grossly disproportionate force in response will likely lead to an even greater loss of life."

Andrews hailed the countries that have slapped sanctions on Myanmar's military, but insisted broader international coordination was needed to have a real impact.

He repeated a call for the creation of an international emergency coalition for the People of Myanmar to coordinate sanctions and rein in the revenues the junta needs "to continue its reign of terror."

– 'Cut off their income' –

"Cut off their income, and you cut off their capacity to continue their relentless attack on the people of Myanmar," he said.

The international community should also ban arms sales to the Myanmar military, launch investigations into alleged violations and work to prosecute perpetrators using universal jurisdiction laws.

There also needed to be a dramatic hike in humanitarian aid to the people through "non-junta channels", he said.

Andrews also urged countries to jointly deny the junta any claims to legitimacy it might try to make, including "the false claim that they are recognised by the United Nations".

"There is no guarantee that this approach will succeed," he acknowledged.

But "there is overwhelming evidence that the current path leads to even greater impunity, a humanitarian disaster, and a failed state."