Russia and China have interests in Myanmar, says analyst 1:34
(CNN) -
Two senior UN officials condemned Myanmar's military junta in the wake of the bloodiest day of protests against the military coup that toppled the country's elected government, after protesters defied the coup once more on Sunday. .
At least 114 people were killed Saturday during demonstrations in 44 towns and cities across the country, according to a tally by independent media outlet Myanmar Now.
CNN has not been able to independently confirm the number of people killed.
In a joint statement, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, UN Special Adviser on Genocide Prevention, and Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Myanmar's armed forces to "immediately stop killing women same people whom they have a duty to serve and protect.
The officials also "strongly condemned the widespread, lethal and increasingly systematic attacks by the Myanmar armed forces against peaceful protesters, as well as other serious human rights violations since they took power on February 1, 2021."
The UN special rapporteur for Myanmar said the army was carrying out "mass killings" and called on the world to isolate the junta and stop its access to weapons.
According to the latest count by the Political Prisoner Assistance Association, a non-profit organization, at least 423 people have died in Myanmar since the February 1 military coup.
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At least six children between the ages of 10 and 16 were among those killed on Saturday, Myanmar Armed Forces Day, according to press reports and witnesses, Reuters reported.
Despite the bloodshed, some protesters returned to the streets on Sunday to demonstrate against Myanmar's armed forces in parts of Yangon and other districts of Myanmar.
Live broadcasts on Sunday showed people marching to protest the military in Phayar Then Zu along the Thai-Myanmar border, filling the streets.
Some protesters also took to the streets in Magway and Myingyan, according to Myanmar Now.
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Residents told local media that military forces had been firing indiscriminately in Yangon since early morning.
Images shared on social media purport to show that at least one man was shot and killed in Hlaing Township on Sunday.
Local media also reported that a woman was shot in the head by security forces in Mon Ywa, central Myanmar.
A 40-year-old Mandalay resident was shot and burned alive by military troops, according to Myanmar Now, which cited residents and a night guard in the victim's neighborhood.
Their report added that the locals were unable to help the victim due to "continuous firing from the troops."
Also in Myingyan, Mandalay, a 24-year-old woman was killed and two others injured when gunmen from the coup regime opened fire on protesters on Sunday, according to Myanmar Now.
The independent media outlet also reported the murder of a 20-year-old nurse in Monywa on Sunday.
Her report says that the nurse was shot in the head by the military while caring for other people injured by the military.
He was reportedly part of a rescue team.
A man who has not yet been identified was also shot dead by the military along with the nurse, Myanmar Now added.
In another incident, she reported that a women's rights activist, part of the organization "Women for Justice" in Myanmar, was killed by the military during a crackdown on an anti-coup protest in Kalay, Sagaing.
The Reuters news agency reported, citing witnesses, that Myanmar security forces on Sunday opened fire on people gathered in the city of Bago for the funeral of one of the 114 people killed the previous day.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in the shooting.
CNN cannot independently verify the reports.
CNN has also repeatedly requested comment from the Myanmar military, but has received no response.
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'Shameful and cowardly actions'
Saturday's bloodshed sparked renewed Western condemnation, with countries like the United States, Britain and the European Union speaking out.
But foreign criticism and sanctions imposed by some Western nations have so far failed to sway military leaders, as have nearly daily protests across the country since the Junta seized power and detained elected leader Aung San. Suu Kyi.
"We salute our heroes who sacrificed lives during this revolution and we must win this REVOLUTION," posted one of the main protest groups, the General Strike Committee of Nationalities (GSCN), on Facebook, according to Reuters.
UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said it was time for the world to act, if not through the UN Security Council, then through an emergency international summit.
He said the Board should be cut off from funding, such as oil and gas revenues, and access to weapons.
"Words of condemnation or concern are frankly hollow to the people of Myanmar as the military junta commits mass killings against them," he said in a statement.
Nderitu and Bachelet called the killings "shameful, cowardly and brutal actions by the military and police, who have been filmed shooting protesters while fleeing, and who have not even spared young children."
"This situation has also put the already vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya, at increased risk," their joint statement said.
They called on the international community to act and added: "The international community has a responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from heinous crimes."
The senior US military officer and nearly a dozen of his counterparts said in a statement that professional armed forces must follow international standards of conduct "and are responsible for protecting, not harming, the people they serve."
The military seized power saying the November elections won by Suu Kyi's party were fraudulent, a claim dismissed by the country's electoral commission.
Suu Kyi is being held at an undisclosed location and many other figures from her group are also in custody.
Air strikes
Intense fighting has also broken out between the army and armed ethnic groups that control swaths of the country, according to Reuters.
Military jets killed at least two members of the Karen National Union (KNU) militia in a bombing raid near Thailand and many civilians fled across the border, said David Eubank, founder of Free Burma Rangers, an aid organization. .
In a military airstrike on Saturday, at least three civilians were killed in a KNU-controlled village, a civil society group said.
The militia previously said it had invaded an army post near the border, killing 10 people, Reuters reported.
Some 3,000 people fled across the Karen state border into Thailand on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing an activist group, the Karen Women's Organization, and Thai news outlet PBS.
Clashes broke out on Sunday between another armed group, the Kachin Independence Army, and the military in the northern Hpakant jade mining area.
Kachin forces attacked a police station and the military responded with an air assault, Kachinwaves media reported.
There were no reports of casualties.
A spokesperson for the Board did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment on the killings or the fighting.
Major General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the junta, said during a parade to mark Armed Forces Day that the military would protect the people and fight for democracy.
CNN's Sarah Dean and Radina Gigova contributed to this report.
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