Amid condemnation by the international community, the Myanmar military regime has intensified its violent suppression of anti-regime protests since the Feb. 1 coup, frequently committing crimes against humanity.
In the three months from Feb. 1 to April 30, nearly 760 people were killed during crackdowns, raids, arrests, interrogations and random shootings. Those killed include anti-regime protesters, bystanders, pedestrians and residents.
More than 3,400 people have been detained, including elected leaders, National League for Democracy members, election commissioners, doctors, journalists, protesters, activists, writers, artists, teachers and civilians.
Facing huge daily protests nationwide, the regime has used lethal weapons including live ammunition, hand grenades and heavy explosives to attack peaceful anti-regime protesters, labeling them as “rioters”.
During their raids and crackdowns, the military regime’s forces have committed crimes, destroying civilians’ belongings including vehicles, motorbikes and houses, and looting property including motorbikes, phones, money, foods, chickens and pigs.
The Irrawaddy has collected 29 photos containing evidence of the junta forces’ brutality, among thousands of such cases committed against civilians.
Feb 10, 2021
Ma Mya Thwet Thwet Khine, a 19-year-old high school student is on life support at a hospital after being shot in the head by police at an anti-regime protest in Naypyitaw on Feb. 10. During the crackdowns, at least four others were injured as police used live bullets.
Ma Mya Thwet Thwet Kine, who had been brain dead, was pronounced dead on Feb. 19.
Her death was the first protest related death at the hands of the junta’s force in Myanmar. However, the military junta has denied responsibility for her death claiming she died when protesters shot at each other.
Feb 20, 2021
A medic from a charity treats Ko Yarzar Aung who was shot in the leg in a police vehicle before he was taken away on Feb. 20.
Ko Yarzar Aung was injured during the crackdown on hundreds of people who appeared in the street to protest government staff taking part in the civil disobedience movement (CDM) at a dock, in a raid by police and military troops in Mandalay on Feb. 20.
In the crackdown, a total of six people were killed and nearly 30 people were injured.
More than 80 people, including some seriously injured protesters, were arrested. Medics were not allowed to provide proper treatment to the injured arrested during the crackdown.
Four days later, Ko Yarzar Aung died at a military hospital without being provided proper treatment, a witness told The Irrawaddy.
The military regime announced he died of COVID-19.
Feb 27,2021
A riot police officer in Myanmar intimidates a pregnant woman by pointing at her face with his fist in Yangon’s Myaynigon during a crackdown on anti-regime protesters on Feb. 27.
During the crackdowns, the junta’s forces arrested bystanders and intimidated medical teams by pointing at social worker with guns.
March 3, 2021
Ko Min Thura lost is eyesight in a crackdown by the junta’s forces in Yangon on March 3.
He was seriously wounded in the eyes by rubber bullets on March 3 when the junta’s forces conducted a crackdown on anti-regime protests in Yangon’s North Oakkalapa Township.
He was shot in the face with rubber bullets when he tried to carry the body of one of his friends out of the line of fire. His right cheek and ear are paralyzed and he can open his mouth only slightly due to the injuries.
In the crackdown, around eight anti-regime protesters were killed and several injured. Ko Min Thura lost two close friends killed by the junta’s forces during the crackdown.
March 3, 2021
The 19-year-old Kyal Sin during an anti-regime protest in Mandalay (left). She died after being shot in the head (right).
Kyal Sin, also known as Angel or by her Chinese name, Deng Jia Xi, was shot in the head during a heavy-handed police crackdown on anti-regime protesters in downtown Mandalay on March 3.
Before she left for the protest, she wrote on Facebok that her wish was to donate her organs if something happened to her.
One day after her burial, the regime’s solders forcibly exhumed her body and conducted an autopsy. Later, the regime denied responsibility for killing the girl, reasoning that the girl died when protesters shot at each other.
March 6, 2021
The dead body of NLD ward chairman U Khin Maung Latt, who was tortured to death by the military regime’s forces.
During a house raid, the 58-year-old Muslim, a National League for Democracy (NLD) ward chairman, was violently beaten and kicked before being taken from his home at Yangon’s Pabedan Township on the night of March 6.
He was tortured to death by the regime’s forces, hours after he was arrested. Since the Feb. 1 coup, three NLD members were tortured to death by the military regime.
March 14, 2021
A mortuary with dead bodies of anti-regime protesters in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township.
Around 80 civilians were killed across the country when the military regime’s forces conducted crackdowns on anti-regime protesters on March 14.
Around 50 protesters were killed and several dozen were injured in Yangon’s Hlaing Tharyar Township alone when the regime’s forces opened fire on not only protesters but also bystanders and pedestrians.
March 14, 2021
Two police drag a medical student wounded by live bullets along on the street during deadly crackdowns on anti-regime protests in Yangon’s Tamwe Township on March 14.
The 18-year-old, Khant Nyar Hein, a first-year medical student, was shot on the street by the regime’s troops in Tamwe while he was taking part in a protest. Another protester tried to save him, but the police dragged his body away. The protester who attempted to save him was arrested. The body of the teenager was returned to the family later.
The boy was shot three times.
March 19, 2021
The mirror widow of a Yangon private hospital is damaged by a gunshot by the junta’s forces.
The regimes’ soldiers and police fired shots at SSC Hospital’s women’s center in Yangon on the evening of March 19.
No casualties were reported at the center, which provides maternity and newborn care. Pregnant women and women who had just delivered babies were present on two floors the hospital, which were hit by the gunfire.
After the gunfire, those in the hospital laid low. At least four other private hospitals were shot at and raided by the junta’s forces in Yangon.
March 19, 2021
Soldiers and police torture an arrested civilian during a crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Yangon Region’s North Oakkalapa Township on March 19.
Some said police rode on his shoulders and strangled the man neck with a rope until he was unconscious.
March 19, 2021
The inhumane treatment of citizens by the military regime’s forces was caught in this video screenshot showing officers forcing a man to crawl along a street in Tamwe Township, Yangon Region on March 19.
The man, who was being used as forced labor to carry sandbags, was forced to crawl after he could not carry any more.
Many residents were also used as forced labor to remove the sandbags, which are used as roadblocks by anti-regime protesters to protect themselves against the crackdowns of the junta’s forces.
March 20, 2021
A funeral is held secretly for 21-year-old Ko Chan Thar Htwe by his family in Mandalay.
Neither protesting nor gathering in the street, Mandalay resident Ko Chan Thar Htwe was deliberately shot in the head by the junta forces from long range while he was in front of his house in Chanmyathazi Township in the morning on March 21.
On that afternoon, family urgently held a funeral for the victim secretly after changing two locations as the troops searched for them in the ward.
On the next day, the whole family fled their home as the junta’s troops searched for them in the ward again, according to a family member.
March 21, 2021
The funeral is held for 16-year-old teashop waiter Zaw Myo Htet, who was shot dead by the junta’s forces in Mandalay during a night raid on March 21.
The high school student was shot dead on the night of March 21 by the junta’s forces when he was looking around outside a tea shop where he worked in Chanayethazan Township of Mandalay region. The native of Bago Region came to work as a waiter at the tea shop just two days before his death. During the shooting, seven other residents were also killed.
The next day, security forces, claiming they needed to conduct an autopsy, interrupted the funeral of the boy and forcibly took the dead body.
March 23, 2021
The dead body of Ma Khin Myo Chit, who was shot dead in her father’s arms during a house raid in Mandalay.
The 6-year-old Muslim girl was shot to death at close-range during a house raid at Aung Pine Lae in Chanmyathazi Township of Mandalay. The frightened girl was slain while being hugged by her father.
During the raid, a 19-old-man, the girl’s brother, was also beaten and taken away by the security forces.
The family fled their house and held a funeral for the girl secretly since the junta’s forces came to seize the dead body of the girl that night.
The military regime’s forces conducted a series of raids in several wards in Chanmyathazi including Aung Pin Lae, Aung Tharyar and Mya Yi Nandar over three days after a confrontation between them and peaceful anti-regime protesters on March 21.
In the raids, at least 20 people were killed and about a hundred were injured.
March 26, 2021
Two people are arrested while their hands are tied behind their backs during a crackdown against an anti-regime protest in Tanintharyi Region’s Myeik Township on March 26.
The junta’s forces also used two seized ambulances from which to shoot at protesters and bystanders in the town. During the deadly crackdown, four people were killed and at least two dozen were injured. Several protesters were arrested.
March 27, 2021
Soldiers drag away an anti-regime protester hit by bullets after a deadly crackdown against protesters in Yangon’s Dagon Seikkan Township on March 27.
At least two civilians were seriously injured as large numbers of junta forces dispersed anti-regime protesters in the Yuzana Garden Housing Complex in the township in the morning on March 27 by using live ammunition and stun grenades.
March 27, 2021
A video screenshot shows military troops in vehicles open fire on three boys on motorbikes passing by near them in Tanintharyi Region’s capital Dawei on March 30.
One of the three youths on the bike, 17-year-old Kyaw Min Latt, was shot and dragged away by the troops. He was pronounced dead on March 30 by the military hospital, saying the teenager died of a brain injury due to falling from the motorbike.
March 27, 2021
The remains of neighborhood watch member U Aye Ko, who was burned alive by the regime’s troops in Mandalay’s Aungmyethazan Township on March 27.
During soldiers’ night raid on Mintae Ekin ward, U Aye Ko, 40, was left behind after being shot. He was dragged away and set on fire at a roadblock by the junta’s forces, witnesses told the media.
Residents said they were unable to rescue the volunteer as soldiers were deploying in the area, threatening to shoot anyone who appeared at the windows of houses.
On that day, the Myanmar military regime marked its Armed Forces Day by slaughtering around 110 people across the country, making it the bloodiest single day since the Feb. 1 coup.
March 28, 2021
A video screenshot shows two junta forces in partial uniforms using a motorcycle to shoot anti-regime protesters in Myinchan Twonship, Mandalay Region on March 28.
A young female anti-regime protester and a male protester were shot dead when the junta’s forces using civilian vehicles and motorcycles randomly opened fire on protesters and residents in Myinchan in the morning on March 28.
In the afternoon, the junta’s forces also opened fire on a vehicle carrying children and women passing through the town. In the shooting, a man in the vehicle died after being hit with a live bullet.
March 28, 2021
A man carries the body of a nursing student who was shot dead while assisting the injured during shooting by police and soldiers against anti-regime protests in Sagaing Region’s Monywa on March 28.
The 20-year-old nursing student Ma Thinzar Hein was shot dead as she was assisting the injured when the junta’s forces opened fire on anti-regime protesters.
In the shooting by junta forces, at least five people were killed.
April 4, 2021
The 19-year-old fell to the ground after being shot while returning home with her husband on a motorbike in Mandalay at night on April 4.
The girl died after suffering a head injury, presumably after falling off the bike. Her husband managed to reach medics with his serious injury after being hit in the abdomen by a live bullet fired by junta forces.
The rescue workers took 20 minutes to reach her and to drive her home as the team had to hide from the junta’s forces.
April 4, 2021
Photos of Ko Aung Paing Htwe, who was tortured to death at the hands of junta forces.
Ko Aung Paing Htwe, 30, was arrested by junta forces while he was extinguishing a fire at a ward administration office in Shan State’s capital, Taunggyi on April 4.
His dead body was returned by the military two days later, saying he died of a brain hemorrhage and lung injuries caused by a crash with a fire engine.
However, signs of severe torture were obvious on his body, said fellow ward residents. His head was cracked open, his face was covered in bruises, one of his ears had almost been cut off, and there was a knife wound in his back. Wounds in his chest had been stitched back together.
April 9, 2021
The funeral of Ko Thiha, who was killed by the junta’s forces in Bago on April 9 (left). Explosives used by junta’s forces remain unexploded in the attack (right).
The social worker was among more than 80 people who were killed by the regime’s troops in a massacre in Bago on April 9.
The regime’s forces used automatic weapons and many rifle grenades in attacking the defense team members and night watchman guarding the protest assembly areas during their deadly crackdown on four anti-regime stronghold wards in Bago.
April 17, 2021
Police carry two bodies of protesters hit by bullet in a cart after a deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Mogok, Mandalay Region on April 17.
Two were killed and two others were injured in Mogok, a ruby town in Mandalay Region, when the military cracked down on anti-regime protesters.
In a video recorded by a local, a soldier is heard issuing the command “I want five people (to be arrested) and I want them dead”.
April 20, 2021
Dead bodies of villagers who were killed during shootouts with the regime’s forces in Yinmabin Township of Sagaing Region on April 20.
Hundreds of villagers from Kapaing, Thigone and Thityarpin villages conducted a defensive action against hundreds of military troops approaching the villages for a raid.
In the shootouts, the military troops used a drone to search the locations of villagers and used heavy explosives in attacking the villagers taking up homemade percussion lock firearms and slingshots.
In the fight, more than 10 villagers were killed and several dozen detained. Troops were based in Kapaing after raiding the village. A villager said the troops looted all food, chickens, pigs, motorcycles and money from the village. They even stole women’s clothing.
April 24, 2021
Portraits of Ma Khin Nyein Thu who was sexually assaulted and tortured in detention.
After being accused of involvement in a series of bombing, the detainee, Ma Khin Nyein Thu, 31, was sexually assaulted and tortured by junta forces at an interrogation center in Yangon, a former cellmate released from the junta’s interrogation center revealed on social media and in regular media.
She had been tortured and beaten since being arrested by the junta’s forces along with five other people at a house in Yankin Township on April 17.
After learning that her boyfriend is a foreigner, officers at the police station in Yakin forced Ma Khin Nyein Thu to open her legs, kicked her in the genitals and beat her on the genitals with a stick.
She is still detained.
April 25, 2021
A photo shows regime forces forcing two women to dance for banging pots and pans in Mayangone Township of Yangon on the night of April 25.
Myanmar regime forces dragged around 10 residents from their home in Thamine ward in Mayangone Township for banging pots and pans as a night-time anti-regime protest.
The junta’s forces forced them to continue to hit their pots and made two women in nightwear dance for them for two hours in the street. Some male civilians were also beaten.
April 26, 2021
The dead body of a street vendor who was killed by the random shooting of junta forces in Mandalay on the evening on April 26.
Ko Zaw Shein, 37, was shot dead by the junta’s forces while he appeared on the road near his shop in Sein Pann Ward in Mandalay Region’s Mahar Aung Myay Township at around 7 pm on April 26.
In Mandalay, the junta’s forces frequently open fire on pedestrians and bystanders.
April 27, 2021
The dead body of a villager who died after being shot in the abdomen during shooting by the junta’s forces in Kayah State’s Demoso Township on April 27.
During the raid to remove roadblocks in Six Mile Village in Demoso, military regime forces opened fire on bystanders and villagers opposing them.
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