Girl, 7, youngest to be killed in Myanmar violence
Soldiers shot at her father but hit the child, who was sitting on his lap inside their home
YANGON : A seven-year-old girl died of bullet wounds in Mandalay on Tuesday - the youngest of about 275 people killed in the bloody crackdown after the Feb 1 coup in Myanmar.
Soldiers shot at Khin Myo Chit's father but hit the girl who was sitting on his lap inside their home, her sister told the Myanmar Now media outlet.
Two men were also killed in the district, it said.
The Myanmar office of the United Nations children's agency said "the continuing use of force against children, including the use of live ammunition, by security forces is taking a devastating toll on children in Myanmar".
Since the crisis started, at least 23 children have been killed and at least 11 others seriously injured, Unicef said.
Charity Save the Children said: "We are horrified that children continue to be among the targets of these fatal attacks on peaceful protesters."
"The safety of children must be protected under all circumstances and we once again call on security forces to end these deadly attacks against protesters immediately."
Businesses in Yangon were shut yesterday and the streets eerily quiet in response to a call by anti-coup activists for a silent strike.
"No going out, no shops, no working. All shut down. Just for one day," Nobel Aung, an illustrator and activist, told Reuters.
"The usual meat and vegetables vendors on the street didn't show up," said a resident of the city's Mayangon district.
"No car noises, only birds."
A teacher in the Kyauktada district said the roads were deserted: "There aren't many people in the streets, only water delivery men."
Activists have called for a "big protest" today.
Meanwhile, Myanmar freed more than 600 coup detainees yesterday.
"We released 360 men and 268 women from Insein prison today," a senior prison official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Lawyer Khin Maung Myint, who was at Insein prison in Yangon for the hearing of two other clients, said 16 busloads of people left the jail in the morning.
"Some clients called me (after) informing me of their release," he told AFP.
Local media showed images of the prisoners on the buses flashing the three-fingered salute - a sign of resistance for the anti-coup movement - as people waiting outside the prison waved at them and returned the gesture.
Neighbouring Thailand also saw unrest as thousands of protesters gathered in Bangkok yesterday to demand reform of the monarchy and the release of jailed leaders, days after one of the most violent demonstrations since they began last year.
Protesters yesterday peacefully occupied one of Bangkok's busiest street intersections and cheered as some leaders demanded monarchy reforms and called for their "friends" to be freed from jail.
"This is a long and tiring fight. We must fight together along this path to democracy," protester Attapon Buapat, who was indicted for lese majeste earlier this month but later released on bail, told the crowd.
"Change has begun. They could only slow it down but never stop it." - AFP, REUTERS
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