Yangon (AP) – In Myanmar, at least five people were killed in new protests on Saturday against the military coup in February.
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In Monywa in the north of the Southeast Asian country alone, three people were killed when forces of the military junta took action against demonstrators, the news portal Myanmar Now reported.
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In Thahtone in the south of the country, a person was shot in the head, as the portal Bago Weekly wrote. An 18-year-old passerby who had not demonstrated was also killed there, according to the portal.
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For weeks, emergency services have been using brutal force against any resistance. According to new estimates by the prisoners’ aid organization AAPP, at least 550 people have been killed since the coup two months ago. According to the aid organization Save the Children, at least 46 children are among the victims. In addition, according to AAPP, there are currently more than 2,750 people in custody, and 126 more are wanted with arrest warrants.
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State media reported on Friday evening that allegations had been made against 18 prominent people from television, social media and the press for calling on members of the army to mutiny or disregard orders.
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More than 12,000 people had to flee their villages in late March before military air strikes in the eastern state of Karen on the border with Thailand, the group Karen National Union announced on Friday. It is one of the largest armed ethnic groups in Myanmar. These attacks led to a “major humanitarian catastrophe,” it said. The group called for the international community to stop the sale of weapons and technology, as well as sanctions against the military.
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On Thursday, the UN Security Council condemned the ongoing violence in former Burma. The military should exercise extreme restraint, said the most powerful body of the United Nations. The council also reiterated its call for the release of Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The opinion of the 15-member committee is unlikely to change anything about the escalating situation in Myanmar. According to diplomats, China in particular had resisted stricter wording.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210403-99-72166 / 4
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