Myanmar security forces killed over 80 anti-coup protesters in Bago town on Thursday night and Friday, near the main city of Yangon, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) monitoring group and a domestic news outlet said.
Troops used rifle grenades to break up a protest in the town, witnesses and domestic media said. AAPP and the Myanmar Now news portal said 82 people were killed.
As of April 9, a total of 2931 people are currently under detention; of them (54) are sentenced. 520 have been issued arrest warrants.
The report says that earlier on April 9, the military destroyed main roadblocks on both sides of Maggatic Road built by anti-military activists to prevent a violent crackdown in Bago. The junta used assault rifles, heavy weaponry like RPG, and hand grenades from both sides of the road to suppress the protesters’ bases and residences. Four identified civilians were killed and several injured.
Protests in Katha, Sagaing Region were suppressed, but no one was injured or arrested. In Tamwe Township, Yangon Region, at least eight youths have been beaten and arrested by 12 military terrorists and so-called police vehicles during a protest march in Kyauk Myaung. In Sanchaung Township, Yangon Region, two people were arrested and two were hit by the rubber bullets.
Night demonstrations have also been cracked down on, last night in Yangon Region, so-called police and military assaulted a march in Lanmadaw Township. They arrested nine civilians, beating and tying them with ropes.
Torture during detention and the shooting of people found in searches is a grave human rights violation. In Burma these are openly committed by the so-called regime in order to maintain power. In Kyaukpadaung, Mandalay Region, a man active in anti-military protests was searched for, when he tried to escape he was shot in the leg and shot dead in the back.
The report states that after the coup, the military has enacted a law which can impose a fine of up to 10,000 Kyats or up to seven days in prison if no guest list is filed, threats of these are now increasingly used. Junta-appointed ward administrators threatened wards with loudspeakers of up to three years imprisonment or maximum fines if people do not comply with the order for overnight registration.
