Public Internet access was cut off in Burma on Friday as soldiers cracked down on demonstrators and stepped up efforts to end the conflict that has seen 10 people killed this week.
Soldiers broke up street gatherings of activists, fired warning shots, launched tear gas and occupied key Buddhist monasteries -- raising fears that the conflict was far from over.
One day earlier, the United States imposed economic sanctions on more than a dozen senior Burma officials, including members of the country's ruling military junta.
"Clearly the government of Burma, the regime there, is facing a population that does not want to suffer quietly under its rule anymore," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said on Friday.
The sanctions were put in place after nine demonstrators were killed and 11 were wounded on Thursday when Burmese soldiers fired on crowds of anti-government activists. The military government confirmed the deaths.
On Friday, troops seemed intent on keeping Buddhist monks -- who have led most of the protests against the nation's military rule -- off the streets. Monks are revered by many Burmese.
The efforts seemed to be making an impact. A crowd of about 300 gathered in Rangoon, but was quickly dispersed when soldiers and riot police moved in, sealing the neighbourhood and sending the protesters home.
"People in this country are gentle and calm. (But) people are very angry now and they dare to do anything," one shopkeeper, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal told The Associated Press.
Security forces packed into about 20 trucks broke up a rally of 2,000 people near the Sule Pagoda, also in Rangoon. Soldiers shouted over loud speakers, "We give you 10 minutes to move out from the road. Otherwise we will fire."
Fears were also raised over the government's decision to cut off public Internet access -- a service that has allowed images and news of the pro-democracy protests to be sent all over the world, helping trigger sympathetic international demonstrations.
Many more feared dead
AP cited Australia's ambassador to Burma, Bob Davis, as saying he heard reports that many more than the 10 demonstrators confirmed killed may have died. Dissident groups estimate close to 200 people have been killed by government forces.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated on Friday, "we believe the loss of life is far greater than is being reported so far."
Many have been arrested, taken away in trucks at night, or roughed up with batons, witnesses say.
Kenji Nagai, 50, a Japanese journalist covering the conflict, has also been confirmed dead.
The military junta has disregarded international calls for restraint.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations said it felt "revulsion" at the junta's actions and urged leaders to "to exercise utmost restraint and seek a political solution."
Envoys from Southeast Asian nations were told Friday that a no-go zone had been established around five key monasteries. Gates were locked and some nearby intersections were closed off with barbed wire. No monks could be seen in the areas, AP reports.
"We were told security forces had the monks under control" and will now turn their attention to civilian protesters, the Asian diplomat said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.
"I really hate the government. They arrest the monks while they are sleeping," a 30-year-old service worker who saw some of the confrontations from his workplace told AP. "These monks haven't done anything except meditating and praying and helping people."
The protests represent the largest challenge to the military government in nearly two decades.
When faced with a similar uprising in 1988, the military government quashed a student-led democracy movement, killing thousands of peaceful demonstrators and traumatizing the nation.
The National League for Democracy, headed by leader Aung San Suu Kyi, won a 1990 general election but was not allowed to take power by the military.
On Thursday, Burmese military forces arrested Myint Thein, the spokesman for opposition leader Suu Kyi's pro-democratic party, family members told The Associated Press.
Co-Founder of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, Jeremy Woodrum, told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday that China, Burma's top economic and diplomatic supporter, is the key to ending the escalating crisis.
"Many of the weapons that are being used against these peaceful, non-violent protesters are supplied by China. They are the Burmese regime's single most important friend in the world and yesterday we saw yet again, China paralyze the UN Security Council," Woodrum said Thursday during an interview from Washington.
China rejected a plan to impose sanctions on Burma, and instead opted to send UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to the region.
China and Russia both contend unrest in Burma is strictly an internal matter. Both countries vetoed a UN resolution in January that was critical of the Burmese government.
Protesters began to organize on Aug. 19 after the government raised oil prices in the predominantly poor nation.
With files from The Associated Press
