Myanmar security forces kill at least 114 after junta vows to strive for democracy
- Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Armed Forces Day reiterated a promise to hold elections, without giving any time frame
- The parade was attended by Russia’s deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin, who has offered support to the military
Security forces killed more than 114 people across Myanmar on Saturday in one of the bloodiest days of protests since a military coup last month, news reports and witnesses said.
The lethal crackdown came on Armed Forces Day. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the junta leader, said during a parade in the capital Naypyidaw to mark the event that the military would protect the people and strive for democracy.
The online news site Myanmar Now reported late Saturday that the death toll had reached 114. A count issued by an independent researcher in Yangon who has been compiling near-real time death tolls put the total at 107, spread over more than two dozen cities and towns.
02:29
Myanmar military offensive drives 8,000 ethnic Karen people from homes
The Myanmar Now news portal said 91 people were killed across the country by security forces.
A boy reported by local media to be as young as five was among at least 29 people killed in Mandalay. At least 24 people were killed in Yangon, Myanmar Now said.
“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.
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. A military spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment on the killings by security forces or the insurgent attack on its post.