BANGKOK, Sept. 27 — Brutality and defiance marked the second day of an armed crackdown in Myanmar today as the military junta tried to crush a wave of nationwide protests in the face of harsh international condemnation.
Reuters
Tear gas hovered above the steps of the Shwedagon Pagoda on Wednesday in Yangon as the riot police broke up demonstrations.
The violence began before dawn with raids on Buddhist monasteries and continued through the day with tear gas, beatings and volleys of gunfire in the streets of the country’s main city, Yangon, according to witnesses and news agency reports from inside the closed nation.
Witnesses said soldiers fired automatic weapons into a crowd of protesters. Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported that one Japanese national had been killed and there were unconfirmed reports of several other deaths, including another foreigner.
Despite a heavy military and police presence, protests gained momentum through the day in several parts of the city. But with the authorities clamping down on telephone and Internet communications, human rights groups and exiles said they were having increasing difficulty in getting information
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/photographer-killed-in-burma-protests/2007/09/27/1190486478760.htmlPhotographer killed in Burma protests
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2007/09/27/BURMA_FPP_01_wideweb__470x279,0.jpgSoldiers fired automatic weapons into a crowd of anti-government demonstrators today as tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters in Burma's main city braved a crackdown that has drawn international appeals for restraint by the ruling military junta.
Witnesses told The Associated Press that after soldiers fired into a crowd near a bridge across the Pazundaung River on the east side of downtown Rangoon, five men were arrested and severely beaten by soldiers.
Thousands of protesters ran through the streets after the shots rang out. Bloody sandals were left lying the road.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7015799.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7013852.stm