Digital rights group Myanmar ICT for Development (MIDO) said it had found more than 800 pro-military videos that menaced protesters at a time of increasing bloodshed - with 38 protesters killed on Wednesday alone according to the United Nations.

"It's just the tip of the iceberg," said MIDO executive director Htaike Htaike Aung, who said that there are "hundreds" of videos of uniformed soldiers and police on the app.

A spokesman for the army and junta did not respond to a request for comment.

One video from late February reviewed by Reuters shows a man in army fatigues aiming an assault rifle at the camera and addressing protesters: "I will shoot in your f***ing faces... and I'm using real bullets."

"I am going to patrol the whole city tonight and I will shoot whoever I see... If you want to become a martyr, I will fulfil your wish."

Reuters was unable to contact him or the other uniformed men who appear in the TikTok videos or to verify that they are in the armed forces.

TikTok said in a statement: "We have clear Community Guidelines that state we do not allow content that incites violence or misinformation that causes harm... As it relates to Myanmar, we have been and continue to promptly remove all content that incites violence or spreads misinformation, and are aggressively monitoring to remove any such content that violates our guidelines."

TikTok's policies forbid displays of guns unless they are in "safe environments".

Reuters reviewed more than a dozen videos where uniformed men, sometimes brandishing guns, threatened to harm protesters who are calling for the reversal of the coup and the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Some videos had tens of thousands of views.

Those reviewed by Reuters were taken down this week.

Some used hashtags relating to US celebrities.

Already growing fast in Myanmar, TikTok downloads surged after the military banned Facebook last month.

Australian Associated Press