Silent strike empties streets in Myanmar on anniversary of coup

Shops abandoned as public defies military threats and stays at home a year after ousting of government

Streets were deserted and shops abandoned across many of Myanmar's towns and cities on Monday, as the public defied threats by the military junta and stayed at home in a silent strike" on the first anniversary of the country's coup.

Images posted on social media showed usually congested roads with no traffic and stores shuttered. In a photograph shared by Khit Thit Media, the usually busy Sule Pagoda road in downtown Yangon was completely empty. In Mandalay, the second largest city, a normally bustling market had virtually no customers.