- Thirty-eight people were killed in Myanmar yesterday as the military sought to quell anti-coup protests in several towns and cities across the country
- It marks the most violent day since demonstrations against last month’s military coup began
- Hundreds of protestors were arrested, and four children are included among those to have been killed
- The U.N.’s special envoy on Myanmar has warned Myanmar’s deputy military chief Soe Win that the military was likely to face strong measures from some countries
- The U.N. Security Council is due to discuss the situation on Friday in a closed meeting
Thirty-eight people were killed in Myanmar yesterday as the military sought to quell anti-coup protests in several towns and cities across the country.
Witnesses said police and soldiers opened fire on crowds with live rounds, marking the most violent day since demonstrations against last month’s military coup began.
“It’s horrific, it’s a massacre. No words can describe the situation and our feelings,” youth activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told Reuters via a messaging app.
According to local media, hundreds of protestors were arrested, and four children are included among those to have been killed.
“Today it was the bloodiest day since the coup happened on February 1. We had today — only today — 38 people died,” said Christine Schraner Burgener, the United Nations special envoy on Myanmar.
“We have now more than over 50 people died since the coup started, and many are wounded.”
Speaking with Myanmar’s deputy military chief Soe Win, Schraner Burgener warned that the military was likely to face strong measures from some countries and isolation in retaliation for the coup.
“The answer was: ‘We are used to sanctions, and we survived,'” she told reporters in New York.
“When I also warned they will go [into] isolation, the answer was: ‘We have to learn to walk with only few friends.'”
The U.N. Security Council is due to discuss the situation on Friday in a closed meeting.