President Biden: Myanmar bloodshed ‘absolutely outrageous’
US President Joe Biden has decried the bloodshed unleashed against anti-coup protesters in Myanmar as “absolutely outrageous,” after security forces killed more than 100 people including at least seven children, according to AFP.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, triggering mass protests demanding a return to democracy.
On Saturday, at least 107 people were killed across Myanmar as security forces opened fire on protesters.
“It’s terrible,” Biden told reporters in brief remarks he gave in his home state of Delaware.
“It’s absolutely outrageous and based on the reporting I’ve gotten, an awful lot of people have been killed totally unnecessarily.”
According to AFP, Saturday’s killings came after the junta staged a major show of might for its annual Armed Forces Day.
The EU described the deadly violence as “unacceptable.”
“Far from celebrating, the Myanmar military has made yesterday a day of horror and of shame,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
The condemnation came after the defense chiefs of 12 countries including the United States, Britain, Japan and Australia denounced the Myanmar military.