Two people were killed in Myanmar’s second city Mandalay on Saturday when police and soldiers fired to disperse protests against a Feb 1 military coup, emergency workers said, the bloodiest day in more than two weeks of demonstrations.

Protesters took to the streets in cities and towns across Myanmar with members of ethnic minorities, poets, rappers and transport workers among those demanding an end to military rule and the release from detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others.

Tensions escalated quickly in Mandalay where police and soldiers confronted striking shipyard workers and other protesters...