Children, including a 5-year-old-boy, were among those killed this weekend as the country’s security forces cracked down on nationwide protests against a coup. …
In a weekend of carnage, Myanmar security forces killed protesters in more than 40 cities and towns as the military regime that seized power two months ago sought to put down opposition to its rule.
Soldiers and the police killed more than 126 people on Saturday and Sunday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a human rights group that is tracking the deaths. At least seven were children, including a 5-year-old boy, two 13-year-old boys and a 14-year-old girl.
A baby girl in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, was struck in the eye with a rubber bullet. Her parents said she was expected to survive.
Saturday, which the military celebrated as Armed Forces Day, was the deadliest day in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, with 114 people killed.
“Today is a day of shame for the armed forces,” said Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for a group of ousted elected officials who say they represent Myanmar’s government. The killings also drew condemnation from countries around the word, including the United States, Britain and the European Union.
“The shameful, cowardly, brutal actions of the military and police — who have been filmed shooting at protesters as they flee, and who have not even spared young children — must be halted immediately,” said the U.N. Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, in a joint statement.
“The international community has a responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from atrocity crimes,” they added.
President Biden also condemned the killing.
“It’s absolutely outrageous, and based on the reporting I’ve gotten, an awful lot of people have been killed totally
