Since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi from power just over six months ago, Burmese security forces have killed more than 1,000 civilians, a rights monitoring NGO said on Wednesday.

The military seized power on February 1, unleashing a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests and shattering the economy.

In particular, the security forces used live ammunition against civilians.

"As long as the military is in power, they will continue to kill"

Despite this violence, anti-junta crowds, some of which have formed vigilante groups, continue to take to the streets daily in lightning demonstrations. According to the NGO Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which verifies the deaths and mass arrests committed by the regime, the number of people killed by the security forces reached 1,001 on Wednesday. But the actual number is likely much higher, said Ko Bo Gyi, AAPP co-secretary.

"As long as the military is in power, they will continue to kill young people, professionals like doctors and teachers, men, women and children," he said.

"They not only destroy our lives, but also the future of the country and its democratic hopes."

Ko Bo Gyi, who lives in hiding and whose group has been declared illegal by the junta, also accused the authorities of "militarizing" the Covid, as the country is going through a strong wave of contamination.

To date, Burma has recorded more than 360,000 cases and 13,623 deaths from the virus.

Seven months house arrest for Aung San Suu Kyi

The health crisis has been aggravated by the weakness of the health system, with many hospitals having been emptied of their staff to participate in a civil disobedience movement. Patients are also reluctant to go to hospitals run by the military, creating long queues for oxygen and medical supplies at pharmacies in Yangon, the country's largest city. The junta justified its seizure of power as a means of protecting democracy, alleging electoral fraud in the legislative elections in November, won by Aung San Suu Kyi's party.

Authorities say the number of civilian casualties is much lower and they also said in June that more than 90 members of the security forces had been killed in clashes.

The former de facto head of government, 76, begins her seventh month under house arrest.

Charged with a multitude of offenses (illegal importation of walkie-talkies, non-compliance with restrictions linked to the coronavirus epidemic, corruption, sedition, etc.), she risks long years in prison.

Army chief Min Aung Hlaing has been appointed prime minister of an “interim” government, which the junta has dubbed the “state administration council”.

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