Myanmar’s Coup Attracts New International Rebuke
After Myanmar’s military reportedly opened fire at a funeral, they drew harsh international condemnation on Monday.
That’s on top of more than a hundred people killed over the weekend in the worst crackdown on anti-military protests, since the coup began two months ago.
According to news reports and witnesses, at least six children between the ages of 10 and 16 were among those killed on Saturday.
In Yangon, mourners at the Sunday funeral service of a 20-year-old student said they were forced to flee after being shot at. No casualties were immediately reported.
Hours later, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the military. “It’s terrible, it’s absolutely outrageous. An awful lot of people have been killed totally unnecessarily.”
The U.N. Special Rapporteur for Myanmar said the army was carrying out ‘mass murder’. He called for an isolation of the junta, cutting off its funding for oil and gas, as well as halting its access to weapons.
The E.U.’s top diplomat Josep Borrell called on Myanmar’s generals to stand down from what he said was a ‘senseless path’ of violence against their own people.
Myanmar’s junta took power on February 1st, while elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains in detention at an undisclosed location.
Foreign criticism and sanctions imposed by some Western nations have failed so far to sway military leaders.
Hundreds of people have died in the on-going protests since the coup began.