A man set himself on fire at Yangon’s most famous landmark in a political protest against Myanmar’s military junta, witnesses said on Sunday.
Thousands of pilgrims were gathered at the city’s famed Shwedagon pagoda for a Buddhist holiday on Friday when a 26-year-old man shouted “Down with the military regime” and doused himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze, witnesses said.
They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of official reprisal.
The man remained in critical condition with severe burns at a hospital on Sunday, a hospital official said on condition of anonymity because he did not have the authority to speak to the press.
The incident was the first known case of self immolation in Myanmar since the military regime took over in 1962 amid a string of protests by many nations.