Myanmar police launch most extensive crackdown

In the toughest crackdown yet police in Myanmar clashed with protesters detaining dozens of people.

Several media workers were also detained.

Despite the crackdown their numbers building through the morning, to chant and sing. Melting away into side streets as police advanced.

Three domestic media outlets said a woman was shot and killed in the central town of Monwya. Police there were not immediately available for comment.

One protester said they were inspired to come out onto the streets by Myanmar's ambassador to the UN. He spoke out Friday making a dramatic plea at the UN General Assembly to help end the military coup.

"We (protesters) got so much encouragement to protest by seeing the Myanmar Ambassador to the U.N. That's why we came here to protest with lots of energy and as much effort we can have. We feel so thankful and got so much courage to see that the U.N. representative stands with us while we are trying to protest and get our our state counselor and president released"

The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since the army seized power and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and much of her party leadership.

Alleging fraud in a November election her party had won in a landslide. The coup has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to the streets and drawn condemnation from Western countries, with some imposing limited sanctions.

Uncertainty has grown over Suu Kyi's whereabouts.

Officials of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party say she had been moved this week from house arrest to an undisclosed location.