26.09.2007 Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) - The military dictatorship in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, cracked down on escalating anti-government street protests on Wednesday, Sept. 26, with troops firing over the heads of large crowds in Yangon, the country's main city. Riot police fired tear gas at columns of monks trying to push their way past barricades sealing off the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's holiest shrine and the starting point of marches that mushroomed from small protests against huge fuel price increases. Angry crowds filled the streets of Yangon, defying the military violence meant to curb the biggest anti-government protests in 20 years.