Security forces in central Myanmar opened fire on anti-coup protesters on Saturday in violence that a human rights group said has left 550 civilians dead since the February 1 military takeover.
Of those, 46 were youngsters, according to Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Some 2,751 individuals have been detained or sentenced, the group said.
Threats of lethal violence and arrests of protesters have failed to suppress daily demonstrations across Myanmar demanding the military step down and reinstate the democratically chosen government.
Government forces fired at demonstrators in Monywa city in central Myanmar, according to social media posts. One video showed a group of protesters carrying away a young man with what appeared to be a serious head wound, as gunfire sounded. His condition wasn't immediately known.
"We are shocked that kids continue to be among the targets of these fatal attacks, despite repeated calls to shield kids from harm," Save the Children said in a Wednesday statement.
Among the dead is a 13-year old kid who was apparently shot in the head while fleeing from armed forces; a 14-year-old kid who was purportedly killed in or around his own home; and the youngest known casualty so far — a 6-year-old young lady.
NBC News announced last week that Khin Myo Chit, a 7-year-old, was killed by security forces in her own home before she kicked the bucket in her father's arms.
"They brought her to me," her father, U Maung Ko Hashin Bai, said to Sky News. "I was carrying her and running in the street. She passed on the way, she didn't reach the clinic."
A total of 15 kids younger than 16, including a 9-year-old and 11-year-old, are among the dead, according to Save the Children.
"It is especially horrifying that several of these youngsters were supposedly killed at home, where they should have been safe from harm," Save the Children said.
The total death count has dramatically multiplied in the last three weeks. In mid-March, 138 peaceful protesters had been killed in Myanmar since the coup. That number is currently up to 550, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group.
The ongoing violence has left its mark on youngsters throughout the country. Save the Children said the number of kids who have been physically injured is unknown, though likely significant. The group detailed that among the injured was a one-year-old baby who was allegedly shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
"This is a nightmare scenario unfolding. Innocent youngsters have had their futures brutally and needlessly snatched away from them," the group's statement said. "Kids have witnessed violence and awfulness. It is clear that Myanmar is not, at this point a safe place for youngsters."
The military junta has ramped up the violence in the last week, conducting airstrikes in the southeast, according to CNN. More youngsters were among those killed and injured in a series of airstrikes on villages controlled by the Karen National Union, an ethnic group of rebels, the outlet detailed.
A 5-year-old kid passed on over the course of the end of the week and a 12-year-old young lady suffered facial injuries after being hit with bomb shrapnel, according to Free Burma Rangers, an alleviation organization.
The country's military announced it would be taking over earlier this year following the detainment of several top politicians. The junta cited unfounded claims of mass citizen fraud as justification for the coup just hours before the new parliament was scheduled to meet for the first run through since the November election.
Wide-scale favorable to democracy protests continue throughout the country, even as the junta fully cut wireless broadband internet services on Friday, after weeks of overnight cutoffs.
.Threats of lethal violence and arrests of protesters have failed to suppress daily demonstrations across Myanmar demanding the military step down and reinstate the democratically chosen government.
Government forces fired at demonstrators in Monywa city in central Myanmar, according to social media posts. One video showed a group of protesters carrying away a young man with what appeared to be a serious head wound, as gunfire sounded. His condition wasn't immediately known.
Late Friday, armed plainclothes police took five individuals into custody after they spoke with a CNN journalist in a Yangon market, local media revealed, citing witnesses. The arrests occurred in three separate incidents.
Two ladies supposedly shouted for help as they were being arrested, Myanmar Now news service detailed. One police officer, who was carrying a gun, asked on the off chance that "anyone dared to help them," a witness told the news service.
"They pointed their pistols at everyone—at passersby and at individuals in the store," a witness said of two police officers who forcibly took away two other ladies in the market.
Meanwhile, the Karen National Union representing the ethnic minority rebel group that has been fighting the public authority for decades condemned "non-stop bombings and airstrikes" against villages and "unarmed civilians" in their homeland along the line with Thailand.
"The attacks have caused the death of many individuals including youngsters and students, and the destruction of schools, residential homes, and villages. These terrorist acts are clearly a flagrant violation of local and international laws," the group said in a statement.
In areas controlled by the Karen, in excess of twelve civilians have been killed and more than 20,000 displaced since March 27, according to the Free Burma Rangers, a help agency operating in the region.
About 3,000 Karen escaped to Thailand, but many returned under unclear circumstances. Thai authorities said they returned voluntarily, but aid groups say they are undependable and many are hiding in the jungle and in caves on the Myanmar side of the boundary.
In excess of twelve minority groups have sought greater autonomy from the central government for decades, sometimes through armed struggle. Several of the major groups — including the Kachin, the Karen and the Rakhine Arakan Army — have denounced the coup and said they will safeguard protesters in their territories.
After weeks of overnight cutoffs of internet access, Myanmar's military on Friday shut all links apart from those using fiberoptic cable, which was working at drastically reduced speeds. Access to portable networks and all wireless — the less costly options used by most individuals in the developing country — remained impeded on Saturday.
The coup reversed years of slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, which for five decades languished under strict military rule that prompted international isolation and sanctions. As the generals loosened their grasp, culminating in Aung San Suu Kyi's rise to leadership in 2015 elections, the international community responded by lifting most sanctions and pouring investment into the country.
