UN says 38 dead in Myanmar’s ‘bloodiest’ day since coup

YANGON: At least 38 people died on Wednesday (March 3) on the “bloodiest” day of the Myanmar crisis, the United Nations said, as the military government defied growing international condemnation of its coup with a violent crackdown that, according to The United States left him “horrified and disgusted.”

Myanmar has been in crisis since February 1, when the military overthrew and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ending the nation’s decade-long experiment with democracy and sparking massive daily protests.

International pressure is mounting: Western powers have repeatedly hit generals with sanctions, Britain has called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday, and, after Wednesday’s deaths, the United States said it was considering new ones. measurements.

But the military government has so far ignored the global condemnation and has responded to the uprising with increasing force.

“Today alone, 38 people were killed,” UN envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener told reporters on Wednesday, adding that more than 50 people in total have died since the military seizure of power, and many more were injured. .

“Today was the bloodiest day since the coup occurred,” he said, without providing further details, including a breakdown of the deaths.

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He called on the UN to take “very strong measures” against the generals, adding that in their conversations with them they had dismissed the threat of sanctions.

“I’ll keep going, we won’t give up,” he said.

The violence left the United States “appalled and disgusted,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters: “We call on all countries to speak with one voice to condemn the brutal violence of the Burmese army against its own people. “

He singled out China, a frequent adversary of the United States that the Myanmar military has historically viewed as its main ally.

“China has influence in the region. It has influence with the military junta. We have asked the Chinese to use that influence constructively, in a way that furthers the interests of the Burmese people,” Price said.

And he said the United States, which has imposed sanctions on board leaders, was seeking further action.

‘DEMOCRACY IS OUR CAUSE’

Previously, AFP recorded at least 17 deaths in Myanmar on Wednesday, and Monywa in the central Sagaing region recorded at least seven, according to a doctor.

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Several doctors also said they saw two other people being dragged away by security forces, although they could not confirm whether they had died.

At least six protesters were killed outside the Yangon Mall, according to a rescue worker and a local journalist.

Parts of the city were transformed and protesters used makeshift tires and barbed wire barricades to block main roads.

Near the famous Sule Pagoda intersection, protesters pasted prints of the face of the junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, on the ground, a tactic aimed at restraining security forces from stopping at the portraits.

In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, two protesters were killed, a doctor confirmed to AFP, adding that one of the victims was 19 years old and was shot in the head.

Another 19-year-old protester died after being shot in Salin.

“They shouldn’t have used such lethal force against peaceful protesters,” said his friend Min Pyae Phyo, through tears. “I will not forget or forgive them for the rest of my life,” he told AFP.

READ: ‘How will they survive?’: Myanmar’s coup cuts off livelihoods for migrant families

And a demonstration in Myingyan turned deadly when security forces fired at protesters wearing homemade red shields with the three-finger salute, a symbol of resistance for the anti-coup movement.

Several doctors confirmed that a young man was shot.

Local media in the northern state of Kachin also reported similar scenes of violence.

In Dawei on Wednesday, a bullet victim from Sunday, when 18 people died across the country, was cremated.

Mourners held wreaths and portraits of 33-year-old Lwin Lwin Oo, while the coffin bearers were flanked by hundreds shouting: “We are united, yes we are … Democracy is our cause.”

JOURNALISTS LOADED

Wednesday’s violence came on the heels of news that six Myanmar journalists would be charged under a law that prohibits “causing fear, spreading false news or directly or indirectly agitating a government employee,” according to his lawyer. Tin Zar Oo.

Among them is Associated Press photographer Thein Zaw, who was arrested on Saturday while covering an anti-coup demonstration in Yangon. A video emerged Wednesday in which the police restrained him with a stranglehold while he was handcuffed.

The other five are from Myanmar Now, Myanmar Photo Agency, 7Day News, Zee Kwet Online News, and a freelancer. They face up to three years in jail.

The United States called for his release and “made it strong” that his detention was “unacceptable,” Price said.

Burgener said the generals had told him they would hold elections in “one year.”

But he also said that he had not been able to speak directly with the leaders since February 15, communicating only in writing since then.

He said he sent a “long letter” directly to the army’s number two, Soe Win, on Sunday, but had not yet received a response, although he did receive information from the army on a daily basis.

And he said he had not yet been granted permission to visit the country.

According to the monitoring group of the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), more than 1,200 people have been detained since the coup, and some 900 remain behind bars or facing charges.

But the true figure is likely much higher: State media reported that more than 1,300 people were arrested on Sunday alone.