Police in Burma opened fire across the country Sunday on demonstrators protesting a Feb. 1 military coup, reportedly killing at least 18 people. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrelli condemned the violent crackdown by the Burmese military and said the EU would take sanctions; the British Foreign Office also called for an immediate end to the violence and a return to democracy.
At least 18 people were killed Sunday when police opened fire across the country on demonstrators protesting a military coup, making Sunday the deadliest and bloodiest day in weeks of crackdowns on demonstrations in Burma, according to the UN human rights office.
“Violence cannot legitimize a coup that illegally overthrows a democratically elected government, and the Burmese military’s firing on unarmed people proves its disregard for international law,” the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrelli said in an announcement Sunday, AFP reported. Borrelli called on the Burmese military to “immediately stop using force and allow the people to exercise their right to free expression and association.
Borrelli said the EU will take measures against the escalating violence in Myanmar.
Reuters reported that Burmese police deployed a large police force in Yangon, the largest city, early Sunday morning, initially throwing flashbangs, firing tear gas and firing into the air in an unsuccessful attempt to disperse the crowd, and then shooting at people in various parts of the city. Myanmar soldiers also assisted the police in the crackdown.
According to media footage, several injured people were dragged away by other protesters, leaving blood stains on the sidewalk. A doctor, who requested anonymity, revealed that a man shot in the chest died after being taken to hospital.
Mratt Kyaw Thu, a freelance journalist in Myanmar, tweeted that the military police were firing bullets at random apartments and tear gas everywhere, and that many people had to take refuge in the nearest house, saying he did not know how to describe the situation in Yangon on Sunday, except to say it was a “war zone.
According to reliable information received by the UN Human Rights Office, at least 18 people have been killed and more than 30 injured by the police and military in Myanmar who used lethal and near lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
In a release, UNHRC spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani strongly condemned the increasingly harsh crackdown by the Burmese military on demonstrators and reiterated its call for the military to immediately stop using force against peaceful protesters.
Reuters reported that a British Foreign Office spokesman also said on Sunday that Britain had joined the United States and Canada in taking action to impose human rights sanctions on nine Burmese officers, including armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing. The Foreign Office spokesman said the violence must stop and democracy must be restored.
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