Myanmar troops open fire at funeral

Myanmar security forces opened-fire at a funeral on Sunday, one day after 114 people were killed in the worst crackdown on protests since the February military coup, Reuters reported.

According to Reuters, mourners gathered in the town of Bago on Sunday to honor the life of 20-year-old student Thae Maung Maung when security forces arrived on the scene and began firing. Three people in the town told Reuters that there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Three people were killed in other shootings on Sunday, and thousands of villagers in a nearby location ran off to Thailand following army airstrikes on one of several ethnic militias, Reuters reported, citing witnesses and local media. These attacks, Reuters added, have escalated since the coup.

Another person died after troops shot at a group of protesters near the capital Naypyitaw overnight, Reuters reported, citing Myanmar Now news. There were also several protesters in the Sagaing region on Sunday, which is near Myanmar’s second city, Mandalay.

There were not, however, any reports of extensive protests in Mandalay, which was victim to the casualties on Saturday, Reuters noted.

Saturday’s events, Reuters reported, brought the overall number of civilians reported killed in Myanmar since the coup to more than 440.

The surge in deadly violence comes after a coup by the Myanmar military, which claimed that the November 2020 elections won by Suu Kyi’s party was fraudulent, in turn invalidating the results.

Myanmar’s election commission, however, has refuted the allegations of fraud.