Myanmar security forces killed over 80 protesters in Bago town on Thursday night and Friday, near Myanmar’s main city of Yangon, reports Reuters quoting the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group and a domestic news outlet.
Troops used rifle grenades to break up the protest against the military government in the town. AAPP and the Myanmar Now news portal said 82 people were killed.
Reacting to the news of the killings, the United Nations in Myanmar said on Saturday that it is following the events in Bago with reports of heavy artillery being used against civilians and medical treatment being denied to those injured. It said that the violence must cease immediately. The UN also called on the security forces to allow medical teams to treat the wounded.
In another incident on Saturday morning, at least ten police personnel were killed in a coordinated attack by ethnic armed groups in Naungmon in the northern Shan state. The police station at Naungmon was attacked by an alliance of ethnic armed forces including Arakan Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, reports Reuters quoting the local media. Some other local media outlets put the figure of death at 14.
However, the tripartite alliance named ‘Brotherhood Alliance’ has not confirmed if it was involved in the attack, reports Irrawaddy.
Some other Armed Ethnic groups of Myanmar such as Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Karen National Union (KNU) had earlier launched a series of attacks on Myanmar forces in Kachin and Shan states and Bago region.
Meanwhile, protests continued in Myanmar against the military government which deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1. According to the rights groups Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) at least 618 people have been killed since the protests started more than two months back.
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