Crackdown triggers exodus from Myanmar's biggest city

Soldiers set on fire barricades, which had been erected by protesters demonstrating against the military coup, in attempt to clear the road of obstructions in Yangon on March 19, 2021. - AFP

YANGON (AFP): Roads out of Myanmar's biggest city were choked Friday ((March 19) with people fleeing the junta's deadly crackdown on anti-coup dissent, as authorities in neighbouring Thailand said they were preparing for an influx of refugees.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1, triggering a mass uprising that security forces have sought to crush with a campaign of violence and fear.