NAYPYITAW, 20 July 2021 (TON): Anti-coup protesters in Myanmar held demonstrations to coincide with a public holiday to commemorate slain independence heroes, including the father of the country's detained elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since the military seized power on Feb. 1 and arrested Suu Kyi and other senior members of her party, hundreds of people have been killed as the army quelled street protests and in clashes between soldiers and newly formed people's militias.

Monday also marked a record number of deaths from the coronavirus in Myanmar where the health service has largely collapsed since the coup as many medics joined a Civil Disobedience Movement to oppose the junta.

In Yangon, military authorities held a tightly controlled ceremony for Martyrs' Day at a mausoleum dedicated to Aung San, Suu Kyi's father and a national hero, who was assassinated alongside members of his cabinet on July 19, 1947.

Drivers in Yangon blared their horns at 10:37 a.m., a tradition marking the time the independence leaders were killed.