Myanmar protesters use Easter eggs as a symbol of defiance 

Opponents of military rule in Myanmar inscribed messages of protest on Easter eggs on Sunday while thousands of others were back on the streets, denouncing a February 1 coup and facing off with the security forces who shot and killed two men.

In the latest in a series of impromptu shows of defiance, messages including ‘Spring Revolution’, ‘We must win’ and ‘Get out MAH’ - referring to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing - were seen on eggs in photographs on social media.

"Easter is all about the future and the people of Myanmar have a great future in a federal democracy," Dr Sasa, international envoy for the ousted civilian government, said in a statement. Sasa, who uses only one name, is a member of a largely Christian ethnic minority in the predominantly Buddhist country.

Opponents of military rule have mounted a civil disobedience campaign since the military overthrew the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, that has included creative shows of defiance promoted on social media.

Young people in the main city of Yangon handed out eggs bearing the messages of protest, pictures in posts showed.

Crowds have returned to the streets day and night to reject the return of military rule after a decade of tentative steps towards democracy. Numerous candle-lit vigils took place overnight.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an activist group monitoring casualties and arrests, said the toll of dead had risen to 557, as of late Saturday.

In the capital, Naypyitaw, two men were killed when police fired on protesters on motorbikes, the Irrawaddy news site reported.

Police and a spokesman for the junta did not answer telephone calls seeking comment.
Several thousand marched in the second city of Mandalay, according to images on social media, before police and soldiers moved in to disperse them.

(With inputs from agencies)