Myanmar: Over 60 protesters killed by military junta amid Armed Forces Day celebrations

In what is being termed as the bloodiest day in Myanmar’s crisis, the military junta has killed at least 64 anti-coup protesters, including a five-year-old boy, Myanmar Now reported. The killings on Saturday, March 27, have now taken the overall death toll past 400. According to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), at least 328 had already been killed by the military as of March 25. Speaking to an online platform in the aftermath, Dr Sasa, a spokesman for Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw(CRPH), an anti-coup group formed by exiled leaders, called it a "day of shame" for the armed forces. 

Protesters shot 

As the military celebrated Arms Forces Day,  protests broke out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators fearlessly flouted a warning that they could be shot "in the head and back". As a result, the soldiers opened fire in an attempt to quell demonstrations.

As per a report by local media, a boy as young as five was shot by the junta in Mandalay-country’s second-largest city. Additionally, a one-year-old was hit in the eye by a rubber bullet in other parts of the country. As per Myanmar Now news, fatalities were also reported in Sagaing, Lashio, Bago and Yangon. Meanwhile, one of Myanmar's two dozen ethnic armed groups, the Karen National Union, said it had overrun an army post near the Thai border, killing 10 people - including a lieutenant colonel - and losing one of its own fighters.

Myanmar has been facing constant demonstrations since a military junta overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in a coup d'etat on February 1. While the junta led by Min Aung Hlaing has dismissed the 2020 elections asserting that it was rigged, hundreds of thousands of residents have taken to streets protesting. The military, meanwhile, has retaliated with extreme measures including internet cuts, live patrolling, use of tear gas and rubber bullets amongst others.  Earlier today, the UN also condemned the "needless loss of lives" in the Southeast Asian country asserting that the violence was "completely unacceptable." 

Image Credits: AP