Burma regime lifts Rangoon curfew

Myanmar's military junta today lifted a curfew imposed in the country's main city Yangon last month after a crackdown on mass…

Myanmar's military junta today lifted a curfew imposed in the country's main city Yangon last month after a crackdown on mass protests.

The announcement was made by loudspeaker trucks driving through the streets of Yangon. It was not clear if a ban on assembly of more than five people had also been relaxed.

The curfew was imposed on Sept. 25 at the height of the military suppression of peaceful protests, led by monks, against 45 years of army rule in the southeast Asian nation.

It was not immediately known if a curfew in the central city of Mandalay, which also saw mass demonstrations against the junta, had been lifted as well.

READ MORE

Authorities say 10 people were killed when the army crushed the huge protests, which began as small demonstrations against fuel price rises in August and escalated as Buddhist monks joined in.

Western governments say the true death toll is probably far higher.

Soldiers and police raided dozens of monasteries in Yangon and elsewhere, arresting nearly 3,000 people and monks and subjecting many to brutal interrogations.

State media said this week 377 were still detained.