Myanmar security forces kill over 80 anti-coup protesters in latest violence

The country’s own envoy led UN calls for urgent action, pressing for a no-fly zone and more sanctions

Earlier, 19 people were sentenced to death for robbery and murder under a military tribunal

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Protesters taking part in a candlelight demonstration against the military coup in Yangon’s Tamwe township. Photo: TNS

Published: 5:02am, 10 Apr 2021Updated: 10:22am, 11 Apr 2021

At least 82 people were killed in one day in a crackdown by Myanmar security forces on pro-democracy protesters, according to reports on Saturday from independent local media and an organisation that keeps track of casualties since the February coup.

Friday’s death toll in Bago was the biggest one-day total for a single city since March 14, when just over 100 people were killed in Yangon, the country’s biggest city. Bago is about 100km northeast of Yangon. The AP is unable to independently verify the number of deaths.

The death toll of 82 was a preliminary one compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which issues daily counts of casualties and arrests from the crackdown in the aftermath of the February 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Their tallies are widely accepted as highly credible because cases are not added until they have been confirmed, with the details published on their website.

In its Saturday report, the group said that it expected the number of dead in Bago to rise as more cases were verified.

A protester skirts a pile of burning tires during a demonstration against the junta in Yangon. Photo: Zuma Press/TNS

The online news site Myanmar Now also reported that 82 people had been killed, citing an unnamed source involved with charity rescue work. Myanmar Now and other local media said the bodies had been collected by the military and dumped on the grounds of a Buddhist pagoda.