Two Australians detained in Myanmar amid unrest

Two Australian business consultants have been detained in Myanmar while trying to leave the country which is gripped by unrest following a military coup, local media reported on Monday.

The Australians are believed to be under house arrest after trying to leave the country on a relief flight on Friday, Australian news wire, AAP, reported.

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper named the pair as Matthew O’Kane and Christa Avery, a Canadian-Australian.

They run a business consulting firm for project development in the troubled South-East Asian nation.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told AAP on Monday it was providing consular assistance but could not comment further.

According to AAP, the Australians’ business consultancy firm has been working in South-East Asia for over 20 years, including seven years on the ground.

Myanmar de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was dislodged by a military coup on Feb. 1.

Since then, large swathes of Myanmar’s population have turned out for regular protests.

According to the Myanmar prisoners’ aid organisation, AAPP, 235 people have already been killed and some 2,330 at least temporarily detained in the  country since the coup.