The United Nations announced the killing of at least 144 children by Myanmar security forces since the military coup in early February 2021.
This came in a press conference held by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, at the headquarters of the International Organization in New York.
In early February, the army carried out a military coup in Myanmar, accompanied by protests that killed dozens of people, injured and arrested, including senior leaders in the country, such as President Win Myint and Chancellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
Haq said, “Since the army seized power in early February, at least 114 children between the ages of 3 and 17 have been killed by the security forces.”
He continued, “Among them are at least 18 children who were killed last January alone, in addition to countless other children who were maimed and injured over the course of a whole year.”
“The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is deeply concerned about the increasing wave of violence against children in Myanmar,” he added.
“UNICEF reminds everyone of their obligations to uphold children’s rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by Myanmar, and the Child Rights Act enacted in that country in 2019,” the UN official added.
