NGO: 781 killed in Myanmar since military coup

JAKARTA, Indonesia

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said the Myanmar military (junta forces) has killed 781 people since the February coup.

The AAPP recorded one additional death from Yangon on Sunday and was documented on Monday.

"As of Monday night, a total of 3,843 people are still being detained, 86 of whom were sentenced," the group said in its report.

According to the group, junta forces forced family members of a tortured individual to sign certificates stating the cause of death from disease.

"Poet Khet Thi who died yesterday was found with wounds consistent with torture. However, his wife had to sign a confession stating he died due to his pre-existing health conditions in order to recover her husband's body," AAPP revealed.

The group stressed that this act allows the junta forces to cover up their atrocities and destroy the evidence of their crimes.

Since the coup, the junta forces have arrested anti-coup protesters, mainly the resistance leaders.

"Beside detaining women and children, the junta forces are even targeting people with disabilities now," they added.

A disabled man who had regularly attended the Mandalay Monk Union Strike was arrested on Sunday afternoon and not released on bail.

The AAPP continues to urge the international community and ASEAN to deal with the ongoing crisis immediately to restore Myanmar's democracy.

Two alleged informants were shot dead

Two men accused of being informants for the military regime were shot and killed in Mohnyin, Kachin State, on Sunday night.

According to the local news outlet, Myanmar Now, the victims are Tin Zaw Yu from Mawhun village, who was a former local administrative official, and another one from Taung Sein Maw village, whose identity has not been able to be confirmed.

An eyewitness from Mawhun, who asked not to be named, said two people in civilian clothes broke into Tin's house and shot him at close range on Sunday evening.

"They did not even run. They just shot him and left casually," he told Myanmar Now.

Clashes between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the junta forces have intensified since March after KIA refused to recognize the junta regime.

*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita