Myanmar protesters defy curfew; media outlets ordered shut

Anti-coup protesters hold makeshift shields during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Demonstrators in Myanmar's biggest city came out Monday night for their first mass protests in defiance of an 8 p.m. curfew, seeking to show support for an estimated 200 students trapped by security forces in a small area of one neighborhood. (AP Photo)

The students and other civilians earlier took part in one of the many daily protests across the country against the military's seizure of power last month that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. In this picture, anti-coup protesters walk to take positions in Mandalay, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. (AP Photo)

The military government also placed a major curb on media coverage of the crisis. It announced that the licenses of five local media outlets - Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News - have been canceled. (AP Photo)

The night's street protests began after police cordoned off part of Yangon's Sanchaung neighborhood and were believed to be conducting door-to-door searches for those who fled attacks by security forces to seek shelter in the homes of sympathetic strangers. Here, anti-coup protesters standing behind a line of makeshift shields demonstrate in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, March 9, 2021. (AP Photo)

News of their plight spread quickly on social media, and people poured into the streets in neighborhoods all over the city to show solidarity and in hopes of drawing some of the pressure off the hunted protesters. On some streets, they constructed makeshift barricades with whatever was at hand. In the picture, anti-coup protesters stand behind a line of women's clothing hanged across a road to deter security personnel from entering the protest area in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, March 9, 2021. In Burmese culture, walking underneath women's clothing is believed to weaken the power of men and bring bad fortune. (AP Photo)

People offer food in front of a roadside memorial with pictures of anti-coup protesters killed by Myanmar security forces since the military took over power in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, March 9, 2021. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this March 6, 2021, file photo, riot police officers hold down a protester as they disperse protesters in Tharkata Township on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar’s military-controlled government is seeking to suppressing media coverage of protests against their seizure of power as journalists and ordinary citizens strive to keep people inside and outside of the country informed about what is happening.(AP Photo/File)