Government troops reportedly killed two young Catholics who were gathering food for displaced people in Myanmar’s Kayah State last week, said a report from Church website AsiaNews.
Alfred Ludu, 20, and Patrick Boe Reh, 21, from St. Joseph Parish in Demoso, a town in the Kayah State, were reportedly out to gather food when soldiers shot them.
Clashes between government security forces and Karen armed groups have been raging in the eastern part of the country for a week.
Last week, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon appealed for an end to violence as conflict between Myanmar’s military and forces opposed to military rule escalated in the past days.
Up to 50,000 people have reportedly fled their homes in eastern Myanmar near the border of Shan and Kayah states and sought shelter in churches.
The conflict between the army and forces opposed to military rule has escalated in recent days in eastern Myanmar with dozens of security forces and local fighters killed, said media reports.
Thousands of civilians have also fled their homes due to the fighting and have also suffered casualties.
Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist but some areas including Kayah have large Christian communities.
“The violent acts, including continuous shelling, using heavy weaponry on a frightened group of largely women and children” had resulted in the casualties, said Cardinal Bo.
“This needs to stop. We plead with you all…kindly do not escalate the war,” said he said.
Anti-military protests continue to take place daily in many parts of the country, paralyzing businesses.
Fighting has also flared with ethnic armed groups that oppose the junta and new militias formed to oppose it.
Two homemade bombs exploded in the main city of Yangon on Saturday, apparently targeting a police post and an army truck, the Mizzima news service said.
The junta’s forces have killed over 800 people since the coup, according to figures cited by the United Nations. More than 4,000 people have been detained.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing says the civilian death toll is nearer 300 and has said around 50 members of the police have been killed. He gave no figure for soldiers. Groups fighting the armed forces say they have inflicted scores of casualties.
The army justified its coup on the grounds of fraud in an election swept by Suu Kyi’s party in November. The allegations were rejected by the previous electoral commission. Suu Kyi, 75, is on trial on a series of charges that her lawyers say are politically motivated.
