Myanmar armed forces open fire at mourners gathered after bloodiest day since coup

A funeral for one on Saturday turned to bloody mayhem after security forces shot live bullets at the mourners gathered in the town of Bago, near Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon. The incident unfolded just a day after the troops killed 114 citizens on Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day in one of the bloodiest attacks on anti-coup protesters. Following Sunday’s shooting, no one was immediately reported injured as the crowd shielded themselves from bullets. Family members of the demised were all accounted for, sources told local Burmese press. 

Myanmar largely remained silent as of Sunday and no large-scale demonstrations were scheduled, including in the second most populous city Mandalay, as the country reeled from deaths caused by soldiers’ firing the night before at several protests near the capital Naypyitaw. Funerals were being held in many places. Sources of news service Myanmar Now, however, have revealed that some of the protesters returned to the streets and confronted the police officers in the aftermath of mounting fatalities that now includes several children below 16 years of age, with the youngest gunshot wound death of a seven-year-old. Since the February 1 coup, more than 420 civilians have sustained fatal bullet wounds from Myanmar's armed forces personnel rifles and have died while staging defiance against the authoritarian military regime. 

[Anti-coup protesters are seen behind their makeshift barricade that protesters burn to make a defensive line during a demonstration in Yangon. Credit: AP]

[Military vehicles parade during the national Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Credit: AP]

12 countries' military chiefs denounce Myanmar's army

Saturday’s bloodshed and use of lethal force against the citizens pushed the military chiefs of at least 12 nations to issue a joint statement against Myanmar’s army. “A professional military follows international standards for conduct and is responsible for protecting — not harming — the people it serves,” the defense chiefs stated.

“We urge the Myanmar Armed Forces to cease violence and work to restore respect and credibility with the people of Myanmar that it has lost through its actions,” the statement issued by defense chiefs of Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States further read. The situation in Myanmar worsened on Saturday after civilians, as a defensive act, took to streets with bow and arrows,  batons, and other objects to retaliate to the troops in what appeared like a scene of rioting in the footages that emerged. 

(Image Credit: AP)