Five dead when Myanmar army vehicle rams into protesters

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Five anti-junta protesters in Myanmar died when a military vehicle rammed into them on Sunday morning.

Around 9 a.m. shortly after the beginning of a street march in Kyimyindaing Township in the nation's capital Yangon, the vehicle plowed into participants, Myanmar Now, a banned news organization reported.

Around 20 people participated in the march against and at least 15 people were detained.

Four people died after being hit by the vehicle and security forces shot dead another person.

Since a Feb. 1 coup, security forces have performed violence crackdowns, killing more than 1,300 people, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group tracking killings in the country.

Junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing met with Tin Oo, the 94-year-oldsenior patron of Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted leader of the National League for Democracy, according to a military news release. The former military commander-in-chief of the armed forces and co-founder of the NLD was at the general's home in Yangon.