Bloodshed in place of water baths

Protesters holding a candle-lit protest against the military coup in Mogok in Myanmar's Mandalay division.

Instead of the usual water pistols, splashing and jubilant crowds during Myanmar’s New Year festival of Thingyan, this year’s holiday will see real guns, blood on the streets and grief over a democracy robbed.

For a second year running, Myanmar’s traditional Buddhist holiday period, which runs from today to Friday this week, has been disrupted.