Myanmar junta accuses Suu Kyi of taking bribes as 8 killed in anti-coup protests

Myanmar's military government accused deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi of accepting illegal payments, while eight people were killed when security forces opened fire on protests against the coup.

Rights group Amnesty International accused the military of adopting battle tactics against demonstrators.

Before Thursday's deaths, an advocacy group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, had said more than 60 protesters were killed and about 2,000 people detained by security forces since the February 1 coup against Suu Kyi's elected government.

Amnesty International accused the army of using lethal force against protesters and said many killings it had documented amounted to extra-judicial executions.

Junta spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told a news conference the security forces were disciplined and used force only when necessary. The unrest was not a situation that should be of concern to the international community and the West was making assumptions that were incorrect, he added.

Zaw Min Tun also said that Suu Kyi had accepted illegal payments worth $600,000 as well as gold while in government, according to a complaint by Phyo Mien Thein, a former chief minister of Yangon.

"He strongly said that," the spokesman said. "We have verified those facts several times. Now the anti-corruption committee is continuing the investigation."

He said President Win Myint and several cabinet ministers had also engaged in corruption and that the president had pressured the election commission not to act on the military's reports of irregularities.