Crowds renew taunts of soldiers in Myanmar city

YANGON, Sep 29 (Reuters) Small groups of protesters started to coalesce in Myanmar's main city today, hurling abuse at riot police and soldiers before scattering down side alleys when they started to charge, a witness said.

Such cat-and-mouse sparring between the crowds and security forces lasted several hours yesterday. Several shots were fired but there were no reports of any injuries.

During the last week, protests against decades of military rule and deepening economic hardship in the country formerly known as Burma have tended not to start until after lunch.

Toay morning's torrential monsoon rains, which helped keep the streets empty, eased in the early afternoon.

REUTERS SW ND13128