'I too kneel,' says Pope Francis about Myanmar nun who tried to stop violence

Pope Francis on Wednesday referred to the nun who kneeled to urge Myanmar security personnel to stop the violence. 

"I, too, kneel on the streets of Myanmar and say, 'end the violence,'" the pope said. 

"I too extend my arms and say, 'let dialogue prevail. Blood resolves nothing.'"

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Ann Rose Nu Tawng's image of kneeling in front of the police went viral earlier this month and was praised worldwide as a symbol of peace to counter the junta's brutal crackdown. 

"I knelt down... begging them not to shoot and torture the children, but to shoot me and kill me instead," the nun had told news agency AFP. 

This was not sister Sister Ann Rose's first plea for mercy to the security forces. On February 28, she made a similar appeal, where she slowly walked towards armed police and knelt in a bid to stop
the violence. 

Also read | 138 killed in Myanmar's anti-coup protests since February 1: UN

Meanwhile, the pope repeatedly urged for to stop of violence in Myanmar since the February 1 coup that ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

For weeks, the protests against the Myanmar military have intensified and in harsh retaliation faced by the junta to quell the demonstrations, nearly 200 protesters have lost their lives.