Myanmar nun kneels in front of police to stop violence

Yangon - Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng knelt in front of the police in Myitkyina, asking them to stop shooting

A nun went down on her knees in front of policemen in a northern Myanmar town and pleaded with them to stop shooting protesters agitating against last month’s coup.

Video showed Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng in a white robe and black habit kneeling on a street in the town of Myitkyina on Monday, speaking to two policemen who were also kneeling.

“I said, I don’t want to see any trouble here and can’t leave if police don’t leave,” she said. “I begged them not to shoot the children.”

Tawng and one of the policemen then touched their foreheads to the ground.

At least two protesters were killed by gunshots to the head and three others were injured in the town on Monday, witnesses said.

Tawng had also come between protesters and police lines late last month, pleading for peace, local media reported.

Over 60 people have been killed and more than 1,800 detained in the crackdown on protests against the Feb. 1 coup, an advocacy group has said.

• Asia