HPA-AN: Several thousand protesters marched in southeast Myanmar on Tuesday to demand the military's withdrawal from the area and an end to rights abuses after soldiers allegedly killed an unarmed woman from the Karen ethnic group.

In a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing, the military confirmed that two soldiers had been arrested for the shooting of Naw Mu Naw, 40, and robbery of her gold jewellery in Dwe Lo township in Karen state on July 16.

The court-martial of the arrested men was already underway, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP on Tuesday. But the killing has reignited anger in a state that has for decades been the scene of a bloody civil war between the military and ethnic Karen militants.