Myanmar gov't: Nine killed in crackdown on pro-democracy protesters

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
At least nine people, including a Japanese national, were killed and 11 wounded Thursday as soldiers in Myanmar opened fire on thousands of anti-government protesters who defied a government crackdown, the government said. Ye Htut, a government spokesman, said riot police clashed with anti-government protesters in the country's largest city Yangon, killing nine and wounding 11 people. Thirty-one government troops were also wounded, he said. A Japanese journalist covering the protests in Yangon for Japanese video news agency APF News was among those killed, a Japanese Embassy official in Myanmar told The Associated Press by telephone.