Dozens killed

A hospital spokesman said more than 190 people were wounded in the suspected suicide attack on the Shia mosque while Friday prayers were being held.

Some of the injured are said to be in a critical condition. No group has yet said it carried out the attack.

Thousands of people have been killed, most of them Shias, in Pakistan's sectarian violence in recent years.

"I saw a man firing at two policemen before he entered the mosque. Seconds later I heard a big bang," said one witness Zahid Khan, AFP news agency reports.

At least 91 deaths, including children, were recorded by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local monitoring group.

"They are killing us like birds or chickens, even in our homes," resident Thu Ya Zaw told Reuters news agency in the central town of Myingyan.

"We will keep protesting regardless."

The lethal crackdown came as protesters defied warnings and took to the streets on the annual Armed Forces Day.

US, UK and EU officials condemned the violence, with British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab calling it a "new low".