Update: Reports Suggest Military Coup in Rangoon

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Help Without Frontiers - There has been a possible coup-d'état in Myanmar perpetrated by the army commander-in-chief and second- in-command General Maung Aye against the head of the ruling military junta General Than Shwe. Troops loyal to Aye are now believed to be guarding the home of Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy. Suu Kyi has now been held under house arrest for a total of 12 years. A meeting between the two leaders is believed to be in the works.

Violence erupted three days ago after thousands of protesters took to the streets to show their discontent with the ruling military junta. The military began breaking up the protests by firing directly into the crowds. Death tolls have been tough to nail down with figures going as high as 50 dead. A second foreign journalist is believed to have been killed today, this following the death of Nagai Kenji, a 50 year old working with the AFP. Earlier, the military rulers had shut down all Internet access in what is seen as an attempt to limit the flow of information on the military crackdown to the international community.

Today, word is circulating of continued clashes pitting Buddhist monks and civilians versus riot police and military forces with more deaths and arrests being reported. There are additional reports of clashes erupting after a new uprising in Mandalay, the country's second largest city. Additionally, there is word of an apparent mutiny among some ranks of the military with soldiers refusing to fire on the crowds.

Soldiers from the 66th LID (Light Infantry Division) have turned their weapons against other government troops and possibly police in North Okkalappa township in Rangoon and are defending the protesters. At present unsure how many soldiers involved.

*BBC video from undercover reporter inside Myanmar