Police beat Myanmar protesters with batons

Posted: 26 September 2007 1355 hrs

YANGON: Police baton-charged a crowd of around 700 anti-military protesters including students and some Buddhist monks who gathered near a pagoda in Myanmar's main city Yangon in defiance of a ban, witnesses said.

The police charged the crowd that had gathered for a ninth straight day of protests, beating students and monks alike with batons outside the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest shrine, witnesses said.

After the crowd ran away, soldiers cordoned off the area around the pagoda. About 500 monks were believed to be inside the pagoda, while others were seen trying to get inside. - AFP/ac