Protest homes searched

People barricaded in a Yangon neighborhood overnight said yesterday that Myanmar security forces searched their homes room by room for anti-coup protesters, targeting apartments flying the flag of Aung San Suu Kyi's party.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted and detained Suu Kyi last month, triggering daily protests around the country.

The police and army have responded with an increasingly brutal crackdown.

Crowds once again flocked to central San Chaung township in Yangon to call for Suu Kyi's release in a Monday protest coinciding with International Women's Day.

By nightfall, security forces had sealed off a block of streets with 200 protesters still inside, said the UN rights office.