protest

The Karen National Union, a vocal opponent of the military junta, says it is sheltering hundreds of anti-coup activists.

She says wholly peaceful public assemblies should not be subjected to police investigations.

Save the Children says Myanmar is no longer a safe place for children.

Fears are growing that a broader conflict could erupt in a country plagued for decades by on-off fighting between the military and rebel ethnic armies.

Hein Htet Aung, who plays for second-division side Selangor FC II, made the political gesture during a match against PDRM FC in early March.

Local media showed images of the prisoners on the buses flashing the three-fingered salute – a sign of resistance for the anti-coup movement – as people waiting outside the prison waved at them and returned the gesture.

Yangon has been a focus of resistance to the coup, and the city has witnessed some of the most violent scenes, with security forces patrolling and opening fire indiscriminately in residential areas.

Her doctor says she was not even in the protest but had been going to buy vegetables when security forces shot her from a distance.

China has warned against further attacks on Chinese-owned businesses after more than 30 factories in the area were torched on Sunday.

Police said they detained 20 people and that two demonstrators had been injured by police dogs after refusing to leave.

Myanmar was reclassified into the same group as US adversaries Russia and China in the level of scrutiny for any sensitive technology or materials, with restrictions on any exports that could be put to military use.

There have been reports of policemen joining the Myanmar civil disobedience movement, with some arrested, but this is the first reported case of police fleeing the country.