Myanmar security forces have reported over 700 civilians killed since the February 1 coup, according to a human rights group. On Friday, at least 82 people fatalities were recorded in the city of Bago amid a crackdown against anti-coup demonstrators.
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One security guard was injured in a bomb explosion outside a military-owned bank in Myanmar's second-biggest city on Sunday. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February.
There was a heavy security presence in Mandalay, where the security guard was injured following the blast. The aforementioned bank is one of the scores of military-controlled businesses that have experiences boycott pressure since the coup. Numerous customers are pleading to withdraw their savings, reported Daily Sabah.
There has been heavy bloodbath in recent days. The United Nations office in Myanmar on Saturday wrote on Twitter it was following Bago's bloodshed. It indicated medical treatment had been denied to wounded individuals, reported Taipei Times.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the actual death toll is possibly much higher. It has been tracking fatalities since the coup commenced.
Soldiers utilized heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, in the attack against demonstrators. According to eyewitnesses to the siege, the bodies of killed and wounded individuals were piled on top of one another near a pagoda and a school, reported NPR.
As displayed by AFP-verified footage on Friday, protesters hid behind sandbag barricades brandishing homemade rifles. Blasts sounded in the background.
The UN office in Myanmar tweeted on Saturday that medical treatment had been denied to the wounded. The AAPP has verified 701 civilian fatalities in the aftermath of the coup d'etat.
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According to a man, "The bodies and the wounded people were dragged away by [the troops]." Among the wounded civilians, a number of them appealed for medical treatment but were denied care by the military, as stated by AAPP's report on the siege.
According to a spokesperson on Friday, the junta has a much lower number: 248. Notwithstanding the bloodshed, demonstrators continued to protest in parts of Myanmar.
Professors and university students rallied through the streets of Mandalay and the city of Meiktila on Sunday. A number of them carried stems of Eugenia flowers, which symbolize triumph.
Survivors have escaped the town since the attack. The siege in Bago marks the third in the course of a week that the junta used heavy force in an attempt to stop the opposition.
Protesters in Yangon carried a banner, reading: "We will get victory, we will win." Demonstrators from there in the city of Monywa took to writing political messages on leaves, including "we must win." They called for United Nations intervention to alleviate further bloodshed.
Across Myanmar, people were persuaded to participate in a torchlight rally in their neighborhoods following sunset on Sunday. Chaos also erupted in Tamu on Saturday, near the Indian border, where demonstrators retaliated when soldiers attempted to tear down makeshift barricades erected to bar security forces.
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