The young woman was killed at her home during a military attack, according to the advocacy group Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the Reuters news agency.
Citing relatives, the local news agency Myanmar Now reported that the girl, named Khin Myo Chit, was shot while sitting on her father’s lap after security forces broke down the family home. The soldiers asked the father if all family members were present in the house – when the father said yes, they accused him of lying and shot him, hitting the girl instead, Myanmar Now reported, citing the victim’s older sister .
Despite the dangers, tens of thousands of people across the country continue to protest and participate in a civil disobedience movement. On Wednesday, protesters called for a “silent strike” with the closing of businesses and stores and the permanence of people in their homes, with the aim of closing entire towns and cities.
Photos from local media showed empty streets and deserted roads across the country on Wednesday morning.
At least 275 people have been killed since the coup, according to the AAPP, although activists say the death toll is likely to be much higher. More than 20 of those deaths are children, said the humanitarian organization Save the Children.
“We are horrified that children continue to be the targets of these fatal attacks against peaceful protesters. The death of these children is especially worrying, since they were supposedly killed while they were at home, where they should be protected,” the children said in a statement Tuesday. “The fact that so many children are killed almost daily shows a total disregard for the security forces for human life.”
The episode follows the death of a 15-year-old boy on Monday, also in Mandalay, according to Reuters and local reports. The boy, who was an 8th grader, was one of three people shot to death in the city that day, AAPP reported.
“The fallen child was shot when he left the house to fill the water in front of the house,” said AAPP.
The Myanmar military has not yet officially commented on the 7-year-old girl’s death, but has repeatedly defended the security forces’ response to the protesters, saying they use minimal force.
On Tuesday, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said at a televised news conference that he felt “sorry” for the loss of citizens’ lives, but blamed the protesters for the unrest and destruction of property.
“Which country would accept such violent acts?” he said at a news conference in the capital, Naypyidaw. “We will act according to the law if the protest is peaceful. But we will use minimal force and fewer steps if there is violence.”
At least 2,812 people have been detained since the coup, according to the AAPP. On Tuesday, Save the Children said it responded to 146 cases of arrests or detentions of children, and at least 488 students are currently being detained by security forces. Many people have been arbitrarily arrested in night attacks and their families do not know where their loved ones are or what conditions they are in, the United Nations said.
On Wednesday, a large and unknown number of prisoners, arrested during repressions against opponents of the coup, were released from prison, Reuters reported, citing witnesses, lawyers and local media. Several buses full of prisoners could be seen leaving the notorious Insein prison in Yangon in the morning, although there was no immediate word from the authorities about how many were released.
“All those freed are those who were arrested due to the protests, as well as overnight arrests or those who were out to buy something,” a member of a legal advisory group told Reuters.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions against Myanmar police chief Than Hlaing and his Special Operations Bureau commander, Lieutenant General Aung Soe, as well as two army units long implicated in abuse. human rights in ethnic areas. In the meantime, the EU has appointed 11 individuals associated with the coup and associated violence.
“The junta cannot defeat the people of Myanmar united in peaceful opposition. In desperation, it launches relentless attacks to provoke a violent response to try to justify even more violence. It is not working. The world must respond by cutting off its access to money and weapons, “Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Myanmar, said in a tweet on Saturday.
The military tried to justify its acquisition on the grounds that the November 8, 2020 elections, won decisively by Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, were marked by fraud. After the country’s electoral commission contested that statement, the military seized power and replaced the commission.
In addition to raising four charges against Suu Kyi that could result in years in prison, the junta accused her of bribery and corruption.
At Tuesday’s three-hour news conference, spokesman Zaw Min Tun presented details claiming to show how the NLD committed electoral fraud by inventing voters and creating hundreds or even thousands of extra ballots, according to Reuters.
In a video, a government official testified that Suu Kyi allegedly took bribes in cash and gold. The former chief minister of Yangon, Phyo Min Thein, said he needed to give Suu Kyi money “whenever necessary” to get support for his work.
CNN cannot independently verify these allegations and has contacted Suu Kyi’s lawyer for comment. Khin Maung Zaw had previously said that the allegations of corruption “are a complete invention”.
CNN’s Chandler Thornton, Sarah Faidell and Akanksha Sharma contributed reporting.