YANGON, Oct 2: A UN special envoy on Tuesday met with Myanmar’s top general Than Shwe and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, wrapping up a mission aimed at halting a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests.

Ibrahim Gambari had waited for days to see the reclusive military leader to express global outrage after his regime put down demonstrations led by Buddhist monks, leaving at least 13 dead and over 1,000 arrested. After meeting Than Shwe in the remote capital Naypyidaw, Mr Gambari made a brief surprise visit to Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he also saw on Sunday, in the main city of Yangon before heading to Singapore, UN officials said.

After landing in the city-state he was whisked away from waiting reporters and did not immediately comment.

Gambari’s high-level talks came as activists struggled to assess the scope of the crackdown – for which the junta said it was not to blame – and to find hundreds of dissidents, monks and civilians who were arrested or are missing.

UN and junta officials said that at least 1,000 people have been detained at the Government Technical Institute campus in Yangon.

Tony Banbury, Asia regional director for the UN World Food Programme, said he was concerned at reports that the detainees, including some 500 monks, were now being moved to another location, heightening fears for their wellbeing.

A Myanmar official talking on condition of anonymity said that up to 1,700 people had been detained at the campus, including about 200 women and at least one child, a novice monk believed to be 10 years old. They were being kept inside a windowless warehouse, where the monks have been disrobed and many of them were refusing to eat, he added. Some have simply refused to accept food from the military, or rejected it because the food arrives in the afternoon when monks are barred by religious oath from eating, the official said.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer described the security sweep as ‘brutal’ and said the number of dead was ‘substantially higher’ than the 13 confirmed so far.—AFP