Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar's junta imposed a curfew in the former capital, Yangon, and police used force on protesters, in an attempt to end anti-government demonstrations. At least four people were killed, Agence France-Presse reported.

The military is using batons and tear gas, Charles Petrie, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar, said in a telephone interview from the city. Officials warned civilians over megaphones not to take part in protests, U.K. Ambassador Mark Canning said by phone. Tens of thousands of people regrouped in a protest in downtown Yangon, AFP reported, citing witnesses.

About 1,000 monks and up to 9,000 demonstrators protested in defiance of a ban on public gatherings, Canning said later in an interview aired on Sky News. Three monks were among those who died when security forces fired warning shots and tear gas at protesters, AFP said, citing officials. At least 100 people were injured and 200 were arrested, the news agency reported.

The demonstrations are the biggest show of defiance against the military junta since a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. That revolt was crushed when the army killed 1,000 protesters on Aug. 8 of that year and an estimated 3,000 more in the weeks that followed, the U.S. State Department said in a briefing note on Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Protests against the regime intensified last month when it doubled the cost of some fuels, making public transport unaffordable for many residents, New York-based Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Violations

The regime has a record of human rights violations, including summary executions, torture and the recruitment of child soldiers that the United Nations says are widespread and systematic. The junta has ignored repeated demands by the U.S. and the UN to free more than 1,000 political prisoners.

``Restraint must be the order of the day,'' U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said from the ruling Labour Party's annual conference in Bournemouth, southern England, in comments aired on television channels. The Myanmar regime is ``illegitimate and oppressive,'' Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, adding that he expects the UN Security Council to meet later today to discuss the situation there.

Several people, including Myanmar's leading comedian Zaganar and pro-democracy politician Win Naing, were arrested, AFP said. The regime yesterday banned gatherings of more than five people, the news agency added.

`Show Restraint'

Canning, who met yesterday with junta leaders, said he called on them ``to show restraint'' and emphasized ``the extent to which a show of violence would be disastrous.''

The protests have spread to other cities including Mandalay and Sittwe, a senior Western diplomat, who requested anonymity, said by telephone.

Demonstrations have begun in the ethnic Karen region bordering Thailand ``in solidarity with wider anti-regime demonstrations,'' the Karen Human Rights Group said in a statement yesterday. The rebel Karen National Union has been fighting since 1948 for an independent state in Myanmar.

President George W. Bush yesterday announced new U.S. sanctions on Myanmar and called on the UN to pressure the regime to end its ``reign of fear'' in the country.

``The ruling junta remains unyielding yet the people's desire for freedom is unmistakable,'' Bush told the General Assembly in New York. The U.S. will tighten economic sanctions on junta leaders ``and their financial backers'' and expand a visa ban ``on those most responsible for the egregious violations of human rights,'' Bush said. The U.S. already bans all imports from Myanmar, restricts financial transactions and prohibits new investment in the country.

Strengthen Sanctions

In Brussels, the European Union said early today it would ``reinforce and strengthen'' sanctions on Myanmar in case the authorities ``resort to using violence against the unarmed and peaceful demonstrators.'' Current EU measures include an arms embargo, an asset freeze and a visa ban on junta officials.

France's European Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said ``France will participate in all efforts to pressure the Burmese authorities,'' after a cabinet meeting today in Paris.

Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister, asked France's local representative to warn the regime against any attempt to stop demonstrations using force and said in a statement that the regime would be ``held responsible'' for actions threatening the population's security.

Political, Ethnic Conflict

Myanmar, bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Laos, is a nation of 47 million people that is slightly smaller than Texas.

It gained independence from the U.K. in 1948 and experienced persistent division and conflict between political and ethnic groups until the military seized power in a 1962 coup and abolished the constitution.

The junta rejected the results of parliamentary elections in May 1990, won by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, and suspended parliament.

Suu Kyi, 62, has spent almost 12 years in detention since the election and was last placed under house arrest at her home in Yangon in 2003.

International sanctions have stifled economic growth in the nation, which had proven gas reserves of 17.7 trillion cubic feet at the end of 2005, or 0.3 percent the world's total, according to BP Plc, and resources including teak, zinc, copper and precious stones.

Gross domestic product was estimated at $1,800 for each citizen in 2006, compared with $9,200 in neighboring Thailand, according to U.S. government data.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 26, 2007 10:48 EDT