At least 802 killed by Myanmar junta since coup: Watchdog

By Devina Halim

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – Myanmar’s military junta has killed six more people in the country, raising the death toll in protests against the Feb. 1 coup to 802, according to a local monitoring group.

The military has detained at least 4,120 people so far, with 92 of them having been convicted, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in an update late on Monday.

Junta forces used “civilian vehicles to crash into protesters, leaving many injured” in Dawei town in the Tanintharyi Region.

Seven civilians were also arrested and one shot with a rubber bullet at the protest.

“Junta forces are now using this brutal method of suppressing protests by crashing into civilians with cars on a daily basis,” said the AAPP.

The military fired heavy artillery and live ammunition in various areas in the town of Mindat in Chin State, following massive raids in the city on Sunday.

Several houses were destroyed in the attacks and a “10-year-old girl who was hiding inside a house was shot and remains in a critical condition,” according to the report.

“In South Dagon Township, Yangon Region, the junta returned the rotting body of a man who was arrested on May 14. His body was returned displaying many wounds consistent with torture,” the AAPP said.

“His face was badly bruised, with his entire mouth swollen, and his teeth appeared to be broken. The junta closely followed the funeral, ensuring no photos were taken.”

The group said family members of victims are being forced to “sign false medical records … to cover up deaths caused by torture and destroy evidence” of the junta’s brutality.

The AAPP reiterated that the people of Myanmar “are not afraid of junta threats and will continue to fight to defeat the military dictatorship.”

“The people will not accept any negotiations, and will only accept solutions which hold the junta fully accountable for the deaths of over 800 civilians,” the group asserted.

* Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo with Anadolu Agency’s Indonesian language services in Jakarta