A 7-year-old girl was shot dead in her father's lap during Myanmar's anti-coup protests, reports say

• Khin Myo Chit was shot during a weapons raid on her father's house in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Tuesday.
• Protests have raged since Myanmar's military seized power and detained politicians on February 1.
• Activists say 261 people, including 20 children, have been killed in anti-coup protests since then.

A seven-year-old girl was shot dead in her father's lap on Tuesday as the police in Myanmar scoured homes for weapons, the BBC reported.

Since Myanmar's military seized power on February 1, anti-coup protests have raged across the country, and the police - which are part of the military - have violently cracked down on the demonstrators.

On Tuesday, police officers broke into the home of Khin Myo Chit in the Chanmyathazi district of Mandalay, her sister, May Thu Sumaya, told the BBC.

"They kicked the door to open it," May Thu Sumaya, 25, said. "When the door was open, they asked my father whether there were any other people in the house."

May Thu Sumaya said her father answered no, but that Khin Myo Chit ran to her father to sit on his lap. "Then they shot and hit her," she told the BBC.

Police shot Khin Myo Chit as she sat in her father's lap, the independent news outlet Myanmar Now reported, adding that police also beat Khin Myo Chit's 19-year-old brother with their guns and took him away.

The protests have been characterized by military and police brutality.

Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for Myanmar's military junta, told a press conference Tuesday that 164 people have been killed, Reuters reported. Nine of those were members of the security forces, he added.

Zaw Min Tun said blame for the deaths lay at the feet of the protesters, and showed images of burning buildings.

"Can we call these peaceful protesters?" he said, according to The Guardian.

But the death toll is likely far higher. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said 261 people had died, the Associated Press reported.

The charity Save the Children said Tuesday that at least 20 of the victims were children, adding that a 14-year-old boy was shot dead on Monday his Mandalay home for no apparent reason.

During the protests, the military has restricted access to the internet and arrested more than 2,000 protesters, the AP said.

On Tuesday, the state-run national TV network said 628 people arrested during protests had been freed, the Guardian reported.

The military has justified the takeover by claiming that an election held on November 8, which was won by the then-incumbent National League for Democracy party, was fraudulent. The country's election commission had rejected those claims.

The military is currently prosecuting Myanmar's political leaders, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, and has pledged to hold new elections soon.