Widespread electricity cuts in Myanmar after system failure

Electricity supplies were cut in many parts of Myanmar on Friday because of a system failure, a utility official in the biggest city of Yangon said.

Residents of cities from the capital Naypyitaw, to Yangon and Mawlamyine in the south reported the power going off in the early afternoon.

"It happened because of a system breakdown, we didn't cut the power. It'll be back in the evening," said a utility official in Yangon.

The power cut came after weeks of protests over a Feb 1 military coup that has included a civil disobedience campaign of strikes by many state workers that has disrupted daily life.