Myanmar anti-coup protesters launch 'Easter egg strike'

Yangon: Anti-coup demonstrators in Myanmar, adept at finding themes to tie together protests nationwide, took to the streets on Sunday holding painted eggs in a nod to Easter.

In the biggest city of Yangon, one group marched through the Insein district chanting and singing protest songs and cradling eggs bearing the slogan Spring Revolution. Many of the eggs also bore a drawing of the three-fingered salute, a symbol of resistance to the Feb. 1 coup.

In Mandalay, the country's second largest city, protesters gathered at dawn on motorbikes to shout their defiance of the power grab that overthrew the democratically elected government. Myanmar's military has violently cracked down on protesters and others in opposition, with the latest civilian death toll since the coup at 557, according to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. More than 2,750 have been detained or sentenced, the group said.

Sunday's so-called Easter Egg Strike follows other themed days. They included a Flower Strike, in which protesters laid flowers in public places to honor those killed by security forces, and a Silent Strike, in which people across the country left the streets deserted.

Security forces continued to spread fear among ordinary citizens. Overnight, a resident of Yangon recorded video of a group of soldiers and police using sling shots to fire stones at the windows of homes, breaking the night's silence.