60 KILLED AS MYANMAR TROOPS ASSAULT BAGO CITY

Reports from Myanmar say dozens of people may have been killed in a military assault on anti-coup protesters in the city of Bago on Friday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

About 60 people may have died in the clashes in the city about 60 kilometers northeast of Yangon, according witnesses cited by Radio Free Asia (RFA.) News site Myanmar Now cited a protest leader as saying dozens of bodies had been brought inside a pagoda compound where the military was based.

Witnesses cited by both media outlets reported hours of gunfire that started early on Friday morning. Protests against the February coup continued on Saturday in Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, Sagaing, Myeik, and many other cities.

The total number of people killed during the unrest in Myanmar has surpassed 600, according to rights groups. However, the military junta claims protests are ebbing, with people now supporting those who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi who are also responsible for the massacres of protesters.

The military crackdown has also included reports of protesters being tortured in detention and harsh sentences. The military issued death sentences on 19 people, understood to be protesters, from Yangon’s North Okkalapa township on Friday. They were charged with beating an army captain, according to RFA.

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