Myanmar Security Forces Kill More Than 80 Anti-Coup Protesters, Reports Say

Myanmar security forces killed more than 80 anti-junta demonstrators Thursday and Friday, according to reporting Saturday, as activists demanding the restoration of the ousted civilian government again took to the streets in the southeast of the country.   Myanmar Now news, witnesses, and the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the killings occurred when government troops fired grenades at protesters in the city of Bago, about 65 kilometers northeast of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.   Myanmar Now reported 82 people were killed while the AAPP, a local monitoring group that tallies deaths in the country, reported that “over 80 anti-coup protesters were killed by security forces in Bago on Friday.”   The United Nations said in a statement Saturday it has received reports that heavy artillery was used against civilians in Bago and that injured people were not receiving medical treatment.   “The violence must end immediately,” the U.N. statement said. “We call on the security forces to allow medical teams to treat the wounded.”

An alliance of ethnic armies opposed to the new military government reportedly killed at least 10 police officers when it attacked a police station Saturday in the village of Naungmon.   According to Reuters, the local media outlet Shan News reported at least 10 officers were killed, while the Shwe Phee Myay News Agency said 14 lives were lost. The military government did not immediately comment on the reported killings.   Undaunted by the shutdown and the government’s deadly crackdown on demonstrators, protesters reportedly returned to the streets Saturday in the town of Launglone and in the neighboring city of Dawei.   AAPP previously has said 618 people have died since the February 1 coup, when the military removed the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, detaining former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. Martial law has been imposed in townships across Myanmar.   Suu Kyi led Myanmar since its first open democratic election in 2015, but Myanmar's military contested last November's election results, claiming widespread electoral fraud, largely without evidence.