Burmese forces shoot at protesters

Burmese authorities again opened fire on anti-government protesters today after raiding monasteries and rounding up hundreds of monks overnight in an attempt to crush the demonstrations.

Eyewitnesses said one man fell to the ground in Rangoon after police fired at a crowd of more than 1,000 protesters. The fate of the man was unclear.

Police also charged at the crowd after protesters threw stones and bottles at the securities forces, the Reuters news agency reported.

Crowds scattered after more than 200 soldiers and police marched through the streets with loudspeakers telling people to go home or risk being shot, a witness told Reuters.

Earlier, barbed wire barricades were erected by the police and fire trucks and water canon were strategically stationed across Burma's largest city, along with truckloads of troops, as the military appeared determined to prevent the 10th consecutive day of pro-democracy protests.