US 'horrified' by deadliest day since Myanmar coup, UK calls it 'new low'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply shocked", and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called it a "new low"
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Washington is "horrified" by Saturday's deaths in Myanmar as Myanmar security forces killed 114 people on Saturday - on Armed Forces Day - the bloodiest day of its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters since last month's military coup.
Blinken tweeted: "The killings, reportedly of more than 100 people, show "that the junta will sacrifice the lives of the people to serve the few. The courageous people of Burma reject the military's reign of terror."
We are horrified by the bloodshed perpetrated by Burmese security forces, showing that the junta will sacrifice the lives of the people to serve the few. I send my deepest condolences to the victims' families. The courageous people of Burma reject the military's reign of terror.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) March 27, 2021
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The US embassy previously said security forces were "murdering unarmed civilians", while the EU delegation to Myanmar said Saturday - officially Armed Forces Day - would "stay engraved as a day of terror and dishonour", BBC reported.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply shocked", and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called it a "new low".
Moreover, most senior military commanders from countries around the world condemned the deadly use of force by Myanmar's security forces and said the country's military has lost credibility with its people.
In a joint statement - signed by 12 chiefs of defense from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States - they said, "As Chiefs of Defense, we condemn the use of lethal force against unarmed people by the Myanmar Armed Forces and associated security services."
The deaths on Saturday, Myanmar's annual Armed Forces Day, which commemorates the start of resistance to Japanese occupation in 1945, would take the number of civilians reported killed since the coup to more than 440.
New US and European sanctions this week increased external pressure on the junta. But Myanmar's generals have enjoyed some support from Russia and China, both veto-holding members of the UN Security Council that could block any potential UN action.
Russia's deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin attended a parade in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw on Saturday, having met senior junta leaders a day earlier.
Diplomats said eight countries - Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand - sent representatives to the Armed Forces Day parade, but Russia was the only one to send a minister.
