Myanmar Forces Open Fire At Protesters, Kill Over 100 In Bloodiest Day Since Coup

Security forces in Myanmar opened fire at a funeral ceremony on Sunday, March 29, one day after they killed over 100 people, in one of the bloodiest days of anti-coup protests in the country.

The funeral was being held in a town near Myanmar's Yangon, for people who were killed on Saturday.

"While we were singing the revolution song for him, security forces just arrived and shot at us," a witness told Reuters. "People, including us, ran away as they opened fire."

More than 450 people have been killed by the security forces since the February 1 coup.

The killings in Myanmar have received heavy criticism from across the world. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, United Nations' special adviser on the prevention of genocide and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on the army to stop the killings.

The United States, Britain, Germany and the European Union condemned the violence. "It's terrible, it's absolutely outrageous," U.S. President Joe Biden said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted: "We will not tolerate the military's brutal course of action against the people of Myanmar".

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said that the Myanmar military should be stopped from accessing arms.

Defence ministers of 12 countries including the United States, Britain, Japan and Australia on Sunday condemned the Myanmar military's use of force against civilians.

"A professional military follows international standards for conduct and is responsible for protecting -- not harming -- the people it serves," the joint statement read. "We urge the Myanmar Armed Forces to cease violence and work to restore respect and credibility with the people of Myanmar that it has lost through its actions," it added.

Civil society members in Nepal urged their government to support the people of Myanmar.

"The Government must help organise a deliberate and integrated international response to force the junta that is led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, to immediately reverse its takeover and abide by the results of the November 2020 elections," they said.

Nearly 3,000 people escaped to neighbouring Thailand after military jets bombed areas controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU) militia near the border.

Many global voices also called on the international community to punish the military for its actions.

Meanwhile, India was among only eight countries that chose to send a representative to attend the Myanmar Armed Forces Day military parade in Naypyitaw on March 27, the same day that saw the country's military kill at least hundreds of civilians.

India's military attaché attended the massive parade, reported The Wire. The date marks the 76th anniversary of the Burmese National Army's resistance against the occupying Japanese during the Second World War.

Myanmar has been in turmoil after the military took power saying that the November elections won by Suu Kyi's party were fraudulent. Suu Kyi has been in detention at an unknown location and many other figures in her party are also in custody.

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