United States condemns "heinous execution" by Myanmar military regime

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday condemned the execution of political activists and elected officials in Myanmar and called the military government to immediately cease the violence.

"The United States condemns in the strongest terms the Burmese military regime’s heinous execution of pro-democracy activists and elected leaders," a spokesperson for the National Security Council said in a statement.

"We call on the regime to immediately cease the violence, release those they have unjustly detained, and allow for a peaceful return to democracy in accordance with the wishes of the people of Burma."

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Toby Chopra)