Burmese riot police attack monks

Monks' shaved heads stained with blood could be seen at the Shwedagon Pagoda where police charged against protesters demanding the end of military rule. ... This is a battle of wills between Burma's two most powerful institutions, the military and the monk-hood, and the outcome is still unclear, the BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, reports. ...

At Shwedagon Pagoda, riot police charged against the protesters, leaving a number of monks and nuns covered in blood, some of them apparently seriously injured. British embassy sources say at least 100 monks were beaten and arrested. Demonstrators were dragged away in trucks. ...

Monks marching to the home of [political prisoner] Aung San Suu Kyi reportedly urged civilians not to join them. "We monks will do this, please don't join us, don't do anything violent," they were quoted by AFP as saying. One witness quoted by Reuters said civilians were shielding the marching monks. "They are marching down the streets, with the monks in the middle and ordinary people either side — they are shielding them, forming a human chain," the witness said.

Now the military junta is reducing the internet connection bandwidth ... Security forces block the route of demonstrations. Yesterday night, the junta announced to people in Rangoon and Mandalay not to leave their houses 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM. I think if the junta decides, they will cut off communication such as internet and telephone lines so that no information can be leaked to the outside world. — David, Rangoon

This is a precious chance to let the world know about what's inside Burma. ... I saw a truck full of police with guns, which looked like AK47. There also is an announcement in every township of Rangoon warning people not to get involved in protests. We are really motivated by the protests. I believe in the power of people. The military junta has been making us miserable for nearly two decades. Enough is enough. — Yi, Rangoon

There are a lot of people in the emergency ward in the hospital and people are dying there. One witness told me that there were three monks that were brought in by a taxi driver and one of the monks died at the table — the other two are in a critical condition. A lot of other people are severely injured. — Thian, Rangoon