WASHINGTON (AFP, REUTERS) – The United States on Monday (March 29) suspended a trade pact with Myanmar as it voiced outrage over the military junta’s killing of more than 100 protesters over the weekend.

“The United States strongly condemns the Burmese security forces’ brutal violence against civilians,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said, announcing that the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Myanmar will remain suspended until democracy is restored.

Ms Tai said in a statement that Myanmar security forces’ killing of peaceful protesters, students, workers and labour leaders and children “has shocked the conscience of the international community.”

“These actions are a direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and the efforts of the Burmese people to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future,” Ms Tai said, using the former name for Myanmar.

Thousands took to the streets on Monday in continued protest against the Feb 1 coup, with activists calling on ethnic minority forces in the diverse nation to back their campaign against military rule.

Myanmar security forces killed at least five protesters on Monday, three of them in the main city of Yangon, witnesses and media reported.

Based on a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group, 464 civilians have been killed since the coup.

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