The protests came as UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Rangoon to hold key talks with the country's ruling generals in the new capital, Naypyidaw.

There were also reports of protests in Mandalay, Sittwe and Pakokku.

It is not clear whether security forces have been directly targeting protesters or using warning shots to disperse the crowds, but Burmese officials said nine people were killed on Thursday. UK prime minister Gordon Brown said he believed the loss of life had been "far greater". Ibrahim Gambari is being encouraged to persuade the government to hold a dialogue with the protesters but few expect him to have much success.

Monks, who were initially at the vanguard of the protests, have been arrested or confined to their monasteries. "I don't think that we have any more hope to win, " one young woman told the Associated Press, commenting on their arrest. "The monks are the ones who give us courage."