Hundreds of anti-coup protesters were 'barricaded' by Myanmar security forces in apartment buildings in Yangon on Monday, the UN secretary-general said, calling for their release 'without violence or arrests'.

The police and military have responded with an increasingly brutal crackdown on demonstrators protesting the military coup in February. More than 50 people have been killed and nearly 1,800 arrested.

Former Israeli spy says generals have been ‘misunderstood’ as police continue to fire on protesters

Accused of crimes against humanity, an illegal government takeover and gunning down protesters, Myanmar’s military is seeking to rebrand itself in foreign capitals, recruiting a former Israeli military intelligence official turned lobbyist with a record defending controversial clients.

Ari Ben-Menashe, a Tehran-born, Israeli-Canadian lobbyist, was hired by the Tatmadaw this week to “assist in explaining the real situation in the country”, according to a consultancy agreement reported by Foreign Lobby, an outlet that tracks foreign government influence operations in Washington.

Witnesses shaken by brutality of security forces but remain resolute in fighting military coup

Early on Wednesday morning, the protests building in North Okkalapa, in Yangon, Myanmar, seemed peaceful. “I saw around three or four police officers along the road, but it was calm,” said Khin, who like all demonstrators the Guardian spoke to asked not to give her real name. Onlookers cheered as the crowds passed.

About 1,000 people, she estimated, had joined the march. Many had turned out in the hope that they would put pressure on police resources, and in forcing them to spread more thinly would protect demonstrators elsewhere in the city. After weeks of defiant mass protests opposing the military coup, the security forces were using increasing violence, including live ammunition, to break up rallies.