According to her counsel, Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended a court hearing on Monday for the first time since the military overthrew her government in a February 1 coup.
Ms. Suu Kyi seemed to be in good health and met with her legal team for about 30 minutes before the hearing, according to lawyer Thae Maung Maung.
Ms. Suu Kyi, 75, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for her long fight for democracy in Myanmar, is one of more than 4,000 people detained after the coup.
She is accused of secretly owning walkie-talkie radios as well as breaking a state secret statute.
Signs of violent insurgency
Ms. Suu Kyi's court appearance comes as fighting has intensified as a national protest movement has fused with simmering insurgencies led by marginalized ethnic groups across the region.
According to a local monitoring group, a brutal government crackdown has resulted in at least 815 deaths.
The violence has prompted some anti-junta activists to create a "People's Defence Force" (PDF) in their own townships, consisting of civilians who battle security forces with homemade weapons.
Over the weekend, there were clashes in eastern Myanmar, especially in Demoso town in Kayah state and Shan state.
At least 20 police officers were killed and a police station was seized in Moebyel city, Shan state, east of the capital Naypyidaw, according to People's Defence Force member Thet Wai – not his real name.
According to local reports, the police station was set on fire, and rebel fighters have kidnapped four security personnel.
Thet Wai, 29, told AFP, "I thought today was a day of conquest."
"But I'm also concerned because today we saw airstrikes and tanks. They have far superior weapons to ours."
The Myanmar military, he said, had conducted helicopter airstrikes at Demoso, a town in Kayah state about 40 kilometers south, in the evening.
At least 13 Myanmar soldiers were killed on Sunday, according to another civilian warrior in Demoso, while four of his men were wounded.
"We planned to take their police station, but they used airstrikes, and we couldn't stop their reinforcement trucks from entering a town," he said. "We had to pull our troops out of the battle."
According to a Karenni National Progressive Party senior leader, an ethnic armed group with a foothold in Kayah province, fighting continued through Sunday night.
He announced that tanks, helicopters, and mortar attacks were being used by the military in Demoso and Loikaw, Kayah state's capital.
Meanwhile, military chief Min Aun Hlaing, who led the coup that deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, gave a two-hour interview to Hong Kong's Phoenix Television, with the full program to air later.
After a series of arson attacks at factories in Yangon's commercial capital, he gave reassurances to Chinese investors in a snippet released on Sunday.
He said, "Our people do not despise China." "This happened because of political considerations."
