Anti-coup demonstrators in Myanmar decorated boiled eggs on Easter Sunday in the latest protest against the country's military junta.
Myanmar has been gripped by turmoil since a 1 February coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Security forces have sought to quell a mass uprising with lethal force, with the death toll reaching 557 as of Saturday, according to local monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
To coincide with Easter Sunday, scores of Myanmar protesters decorated eggs with political messages and left them on neighbours' doorsteps and hanging in bags on front gates.
Pictures posted on social media showed eggs adorned with Ms Suu Kyi's likeness and three-finger salutes - a symbol of the resistance - while others said "save our people" and "democracy".
"I am Buddhist but I have joined this campaign because it is easy to get hold of eggs. I spent almost one hour decorating my eggs," one Yangon based egg decorator told AFP.
"I am praying for Myanmar's current situation to get back to democracy."
One Facebook group promoting the egg protest urged people to be respectful of Christian traditions on Easter Sunday.
A person makes the three-finger salute beside a bowl of eggs, decorated with messages in support of protesters Source: AFP
Myanmar's most senior Catholic, Cardinal Charles Bo, posted an Easter message on Twitter: "Jesus has risen: Hallelujah - Myanmar will rise again!"
Earlybird protesters also hit the streets of Mandalay Sunday, some carrying flags and riding motorbikes.
Their demonstration came after four protesters were killed Saturday in the cities of Bago and Monywa.
In Pyay Town in the Bago region, people plastered photos of Myanmar children killed since early February on the town's billboard sign and on fences around neighbourhoods.
A 30-year-old protester was killed in the early hours of Sunday morning in a small town in Kachin state.
"They shot him at the road side. He was wounded and died later. They took away his dead body this morning at 6 am," an eyewitness told AFP.
The military junta insists security forces are "exercising utmost restraint," as they deal with the protests, state-run newspaper Myawady reported Sunday.
