Myanmar protests

A nationwide strike marked the one-year anniversary Tuesday of the army's seizure of power in Myanmar, as protests and sporadic violence across the country renewed concern over the ongoing struggle for power.

Myanmar's election last year reflected the will of the people and the army was unjustified in using alleged flaws as a reason to seize power, an international monitoring group said on May 17 in its final report.

The Feb. 1 coup cut short a decade of tentative democratic reforms and led to the arrest of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party had swept the Nov. 8 election.

A security guard was wounded in a bomb blast outside a military-owned bank in Myanmar's second-biggest city on April 11 morning, as the civilian death toll from the junta's brutal crackdown on dissent topped more than 700 at the weekend.

Security forces in central Myanmar opened fire on anti-coup protesters on April 3, killing at least two people according to local media. A human rights group said mounting violence since the Feb. 1 military takeover has killed at least 550 civilians.

The US has said that it is "horrified" by the killing of scores of anti-coup protesters in Myanmar on Saturday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the military of "a reign of terror" that was "sacrificing the lives of the people to serve the few".

Saturday was the deadliest day since last month's military takeover.

Defense chiefs from a dozen countries on March 28 jointly condemned the bloodbath in Myanmar a day earlier, when at least 90 people -including several children -were killed after security forces opened fire on anti-coup protesters.

Turkey on March 27 "strongly condemned" the most violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar when the ruling military regime put on a show of its strength on its annual Armed Forces Day.

Turkey on March 15 strongly condemned the continued use of force on civilians by Myanmar's military.

"We strongly condemn the continued use of deadly force by the military regime against its own people during peaceful protests ignoring the calls of the international community," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

Thousands of Myanmar anti-coup demonstrators hit the streets on March 7 as the junta regime continued its crackdown, amid overnight raids in parts of Yangon which targeted officials from Aung San Suu Kyi's political party.

At least 38 people were killed in Myanmar on Wednesday in what the UN described as the "bloodiest day" since the coup took place a month ago.

UN envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener said there was shocking footage coming out of the country.

Witnesses said security forces opened fire with rubber and live bullets.