YANGON—Myanmar’s military regime killed nine more civilians on Saturday, boosting the protest-related total death toll to at least 92 in the 41 days since the coup on Feb. 1.
In a deadly crackdown on a sit-in protest against the regime in Mandalay region’s Sein Pan quarter, at least five people were shot dead. The casualty toll was expected to climb higher as soldiers and police opened up with sustained bursts of gunfire, wounding many.
Locals reported about 20 more were wounded, including a Buddhist monk. Many of those injured are in critical condition. State-run television announced on Saturday night that 36 protesters were also arrested.
Among those injured was a resident Daw Pyone who was shot in the head for giving shelter to young protesters attempting to hide from security officers. Soldiers and police hauled her wounded body away from her home after they shot her. The family has not yet been able to confirm her condition.
In Pyay of Bago region, 19-year-old Ko Htet Myat Aung, who was a student at the Myanmar Maritime University, was killed after being shot twice in the abdomen. At least four others were also severely wounded as the regime’s security officers used live ammunition to disperse student protesters. One young man’s jaw was broken and misshapen after a bullet hit him in his mouth.
An anti-coup protest in Twantay of Yangon region was also violently assaulted Saturday afternoon. Seven people were injured. A resident in Twantay told The Irrawaddy at least two deaths have been confirmed. The death toll could go higher.
In Magway region’s Chauk Township, one man was reportedly shot dead as soldiers and police fired on anti-coup protesters in the afternoon. At least 13 protesters were arrested.
Several other arrests were also reported in Yangon’s Thingangyun, Mandalay’s Mogok and Shan State’s Aung Pan.
Myanmar has seen a spike in the intensity of the deadly nationwide crackdown on anti-regime protesters since mid-February. Yangon, Mandalay, Magway and Sagaing regions have seen the highest death tolls. Many of those killed were students in their late-teens who were shot in the head.
Apart from the protest-related massacres, the regime’s security forces have committed extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests in late night raids and rampage.
Two National League for Democracy (NLD) members in Yangon have died this month during military detentions.
Convoys of military trucks rolled into civilian neighborhoods in Yangon and other areas after midnight to arrest politicians and civil servants who have been refusing to work under the military rule.
When they faced resistance during the crackdown and late night operations, soldiers and police run amok with civilians’ properties. They have been seen breaking car windshields, destroying storefronts and creating other damage.
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