Junta imposes martial law in two densely populated Yangon townships after at least 38 protesters and one policeman are killed in one of the deadliest days since the February 1 coup.
Myanmar's ruling junta has declared martial law in parts of the country's largest city as security forces killed more protesters in an increasingly lethal crackdown on resistance to last month’s military coup.
At least 38 people were killed on Sunday and dozens were injured in one of the deadliest days of the crackdown, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent group tracking the toll of the violence.
Most of those killed — 34 — were in Yangon, where two townships, Hlaing Thar Yar and neighbouring Shwepyitha were being placed under martial law.
Video from Hlaing Thar Yar township showed people running away after gunfire was heard.
Those fleeing carried one injured person and tried to revive two others, one who seemed to be dead or dying, the footage from independent Democratic Voice of Burma showed.
Hlaing Thar Yar was the location of 22 civilian deaths on Sunday, according to the aid group, which said more than a dozen civilians were wounded and described a large number of junta forces engaged in the township.
Since the takeover six weeks ago, Myanmar has been under a nationwide state of emergency, with its civilian leaders ousted and detained and military leaders in charge of all government.
But the announcement on state broadcaster MRTV late on Sunday appeared to be the first use of the term martial law since the coup and suggested more direct military control of security, instead of local police.
Meanwhile, United Nations' envoy for Myanmar strongly condemned continuing bloodshed in one of the deadliest days since the country's February 1 coup.
"The international community, including regional actors, must come together in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and their democratic aspirations," Christine Schraner Burgener said in a statement on Sunday.
She said the Myanmar military was defying international calls for restraint, adding she had heard "heartbreaking accounts of killings, mistreatment of demonstrators and torture of prisoners" from contacts inside the Southeast Asian country.
Over 100 killed so far
"The ongoing brutality, including against medical personnel and destruction of public infrastructure, severely undermines any prospects for peace and stability," she said.
More than 100 people have been killed in mass protests since the military wrenched civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power, a toll that rose dramatically after Sunday's violence.
The junta has repeatedly justified its power grab by alleging widespread electoral fraud in November's elections, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won by a landslide.
Soldiers and police have in recent weeks been staging near-daily crackdowns against demonstrators calling for a return to democracy – deploying tear gas and firing rubber bullets and live rounds to quell anti-coup protests.
