93 more protesters killed in Myanmar
- 27 Mar 2021
Gulf Today Report
Myanmar's security forces shot and killed at least 93 people — including a young boy — on Saturday, news reports and witnesses said, even as the ruling junta's leader said the military would protect the people and strive for democracy.
A count issued by an independent researcher in Yangon who has been compiling near-real time death tolls put the total killed by late Saturday afternoon at 74, spread over more than two dozen cities and towns. That would make it equal to the deadliest day since the coup.
Protesters against the Feb. 1 military coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns, defying a warning that they could be shot "in the head and back", while the country's generals celebrated Armed Forces Day.
Family members cry in front of a body of a man after he was shot dead during an anti-coup protest. Reuters
"Today is a day of shame for the armed forces," Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for CRPH, an anti-junta group set up by deposed lawmakers, told an online forum.
The deaths on Saturday, one of the bloodiest days since the coup, would take the number of civilians reported killed to nearly 400. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in parts of Myanmar on Saturday.
A boy reported by local media to be as young as five was among at least 13 people killed in Myanmar's second city of Mandalay. The Myanmar Now news portal said 64 people had been killed in total across the country by 2.30 p.m. (0800 GMT).
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Three people, including a man who plays in a local under-21 football team, were killed in a protest in the Insein district of Myanmar's biggest city Yangon, a neighbour told Reuters.
The leader of the ruling junta said the military will protect the people and strive for democracy, news reports and witnesses said.
Myanmar's Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing presides over an army parade in Naypyitaw. AP
"Today is a day of shame for the armed forces," Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for CRPH, an anti-junta group set up by deposed lawmakers, told an online forum.
"The military generals are celebrating Armed Forces Day after they just killed more than 300 innocent civilians," he said, giving an estimate of the toll since protests first erupted weeks ago.
After presiding over a military parade in the capital Naypyitaw to mark Armed Forces Day, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing reiterated a promise to hold elections, without giving any time-frame.
A barricade, set up by protesters demonstrating against the military coup, burning in Mandalay. Facebook/AFP
"Violent acts that affect stability and security in order to make demands are inappropriate."
The latest deaths will add to a toll of 405 people killed in the crackdown that has followed the coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, according to a tally kept by an activist group.