Yangon anti-coup protesters release red balloons

Hundreds of red balloons floated into the sky in Myanmar's biggest city on Monday as defiant protesters vowed to persist with their revolution to end military rule despite an increasingly violent crackdown by the junta.

In the Hlaing township in Yangon, protesters chanted "the revolution must win" before releasing hundreds of red balloons in support of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted and detained in a February 1 military coup.

Many also wore red shirts, the color of her party, the National League for Democracy.

Papers with the words R2P were tied to the balloons as protesters prayed for help for their country.

Protesters have called for foreign intervention to aid them under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect — R2P — devised to deal with matters such as genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.