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The special envoy on Myanmar on Friday demanded an end to the military's "repression" of protesters, imploring the Security Council to act on the "desperate pleas" from the country.

"Your unity is needed more than ever on Myanmar," special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener told a session on the crisis. "The repression must stop."

She said that she is receiving some 2,000 messages a day from Myanmar urging international action.

"The hope they have placed in the United Nations and its membership is waning and I have heard directly the desperate pleas -- from mothers, students and the elderly," she said.

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"Allow me to reiterate: the international community should not lend legitimacy or recognition to this -- a regime that has been forcefully imposed."

But she stopped short of urging international sanctions on the military junta, which overthrew civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1 and has killed more than 50 people as it tries to crush persistent protests. 

The army has historically counted on support from veto-wielding Security Council member China, which has voiced misgivings about the coup but not joined Western nations in sanctions.

Diplomats said that no statement was expected to come out of Friday's session initiated by Britain but that Security Council members would pursue work on a text.

Burgener called for world powers to be "robust and timely" in pushing for the restoration of democracy.

"We must denounce the actions by the military, which continues to severely undermine the principles of this organization and ignores our clear signals to uphold them," she said.

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