Nine killed in Burmese crackdown

BBC

Nine people have been killed amid a crackdown on anti-government protesters in Burma's main city of Rangoon, state television has reported.

The dead included eight protesters and a Japanese man identified by Japan's APF News as a video journalist.

Eleven demonstrators and 31 soldiers were injured, state media said.

The clashes came on the 10th day of protests against Burma's military rulers led by the country's Buddhist monks. Hundreds have been arrested.

Security forces on Thursday had to fire warning shots as protesters tried to take their weapons, the state television report said.

Witnesses said it was unclear whether bullets were fired into the crowd or above heads.

The military had been broadcasting warnings that the protesters should go home or face "serious action".

World leaders have renewed their calls for an end to the violence.

Japan's foreign ministry said it was working to identify a man found dead in Rangoon carrying a Japanese passport.

The Japanese news agency APF News named the dead man as Kenji Nagai, a video journalist who had been in Burma for the agency since Tuesday.......