SINGAPORE – At least 38 people were killed when Myanmar’s new military rulers, who overthrew the democratically elected government on February 1, continued to launch a lethal campaign to suppress protests that have ravaged the country for nearly a month.
The death toll, announced by the United Nations, makes Wednesday the deadliest since taking office.
Security forces opened fire on protesters in many cities, according to protesters and doctors who responded to the violence. A 19-year-old woman, wearing a T-shirt that read “Everything will be fine,” was shot in the head. The men were hit by bullets in the eyes and chest as they ran and police assaulted the doctors.
Protesters had been more cautious since the deadly crackdown on Sunday, when police killed at least 18 people. According to civil society groups, protesters and doctors, security forces who had only occasionally fired live rounds before that day have used firing frequently.
Protesters have taken to the streets for 26 days in a row demanding a reversal of the coup, which ended a decadent transition to democracy. Demonstrations have sometimes taken place that attract tens of thousands, with crowds mobilizing in cities across the country. Large-scale participation has highlighted the widespread rejection of the military, which ruled Myanmar for half a century before democratic change began.