NAYPYITAW, 27 October 2021, (TON): Rallies in support of the military council took place in several cities across Myanmar on Monday and Tuesday as a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders commenced with Myanmar’s junta chief blocked from attendance.

According to local sources “the events were held in more than a dozen locations in military-dominated areas of Naypyitaw, Mandalay and Yangon regions and in Kachin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan states.”

While pro-democracy protests have attracted hundreds of thousands of people nationwide and been met with brutal suppression by the military—rallies in support of the army have been increasingly rare since they seized power in the February 1 coup.

According to a local media outlet Western News “around 100 family members of military personnel in Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu held a rally.”

Demonstrators were seen holding banners stating, “We Fully Support the Caretaker Government” and “We Stand With Our Defence Services.”

Citing a local resident, the report also said that a similar rally of around 70 people was held in Taungup on the same morning.