Seven people arrested for taking part in an anti-coup protest in the Kayah state capital Loikaw on Thursday were freed later that day after an ethnic armed group negotiated their release.
The group of four teachers and three youths were on their way back to Demawso township when they were stopped by police at around noon.
They were held in Loikaw prison for the next few hours, until talks between police and the Kayan New Land Party (KNLP), an ethnic armed group active in the area, led to their release.
“Just around 6pm, we were released. The KNLP got us out,” one of the detained protesters told Myanmar Now, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The arrests provoked large protests in both Loikaw and Demawso, where thousands of people gathered to demand the release of the prisoners. It was at that point that KNLP officials stepped in on their behalf.
The incident raised concerns among protesters that the military had begun using arrests as a means of quelling the growing unrest over last week’s coup.
“The military is going to start arresting protesters one by one. What happened today was just a warning. They are telling people not to join in this protest,” said one protester in Loikaw.
To resist this, protesters will need to return to their homes in groups and follow the guidelines of the protest committee, he added.
The arrests came a day after 52 police officers joined with protesters in Loikaw. Efforts to arrest them have so far failed because of support from local people.
Earlier this week, five protesters were arrested in Rakhine state’s Ann township, where the headquarters of the military’s Western Regional Command is located.
The five protesters have not been released since they were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday.
![Resistance fighters holding heavy weapons ammunition in central Myanmar. (Photo: Freedom Revolution Force [FRF])](https://myanmar-now.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/04/438869056_443267851680128_1706386881626943924_n-390x220.jpeg)
