Reporters Without Borders has condemned the killing of a Japanese news photographer who was covering the violent anti-government demonstrations in Burma.
Violence erupted for a second day in Burma with troops pouring rifle fire into the crowds.
Eyewitnesses reported several people were killed and one Japanese journalist was confirmed among the victims.
The Japanese Embassy confirmed that a Japanese citizen had been killed. According to BBC News online, Japanese news agency APF News has said that the dead man is a video journalist who has been working for the agency in Burma since Tuesday.
The Bangkok Post is reporting that a male Caucasian foreigner, tentatively identified as a German photographer, has also been shot dead.
Despite the threat from soldiers and armed police who attempted to seal off the centre of Rangoon, more than 70,000 protesters gathered for the 10th consecutive day of marches protesting against the country’s military leadership.
But the junta ignored international pleas for restraint and stepped up the level of violence . Troops opened fire with automatic weapons after several thousand protesters ignored orders to disband.
According to RSF, dozens of foreign reporters who applied to the Burmese embassies in Bangkok or Beijing have been refused visas to visit Burma.
Press visas are severely restricted by the military, and scores of journalists and human rights activists have been blacklisted, RSF claims.
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