Myanmar’s security forces shot and killed at least 16 protesters on Saturday, news reports and witnesses said, as the leader of the ruling junta said the military will protect the people and strive for democracy.

Protesters against the Feb. 1 military coup came out on the streets of Yangon, Mandalay and other towns, defying a warning that they could be shot “in the head and back” as the country’s generals celebrated Armed Forces Day.

“Today is a day of shame for the armed forces,” Dr. Sasa, a spokesman for CRPH, an anti-junta group set up by deposed lawmakers, told an online forum.

“The military generals are celebrating Armed Forces Day after they just killed more than 300 innocent civilians,” he said, giving an estimate of the toll since protests first erupted weeks ago.