Death claims amid Myanmar crackdown

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- At least five protesters have been killed by Myanmar security forces Wednesday, according to opposition reports, as the anticipated crackdown began.

Speaking to CNN, Aye Chan Naing of Oslo-based opposition group Democratic Voice of Burma, said it had heard that at least five monks had been killed.

And speaking from neighboring Thailand, the spokesman for the resistance organization the National Council of the Union of Burma (Myanmar), Soe Aung, told CNN that at least one monk died after clashes with security forces in Yangon. It is not known if this fatality was in addition to those alleged by Democratic Voice of Burma.

Meanwhile, an opposition Web site gathering information from sources inside Myanmar reported security forces have shot at least two protesters near Sule Pagoda, a Buddhist monument and landmark located in Yangon's city center.

"One protester reportedly died, according to people who took part in the demonstration," the Web site said. "The soldiers continued firing at the demonstrators, who numbered several thousand."