DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

The Burmese leadership has announced dusk-to-dawn curfews in the towns of Rangoon and Mandalay in an attempt to halt the biggest demonstrations against military rule in nearly 20 years. The regime also placed both cities under the direct control of the local military commander for 60 days. Earlier, hundreds of soldiers and riot police were trucked to Yangon, after Buddhist monks defied warnings of a crackdown and led thousands of people in an eight day of peaceful protests against the regime. The European Union has urged Burma's government to exercise "maximum restraint." US President George W. Bush called for further US sanctions on Burma's military rulers. Bush told the opening session of the UN General Assembly in New York that the regime had imposed a "19-year reign of fear".