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In this photo released by the National League for Democracy-Liberated Area, Buddhist monk and Myanmar people run past a motorcycle that was burned in Yangon, Myanmar on Wednesday September 26, 2007. Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas canisters while hauling militant Buddhist monks away in trucks Wednesday as they tried to stop anti-government demonstrations in defiance of a ban on assembly. (AP Photo/ National League for Democracy-Liberated Area)

Security forces in Myanmar opened fire on demonstrators Wednesday, and witnesses said police beat and dragged away dozens of Buddhist monks. The government said at least one person was killed, while dissident groups and media reported up to eight dead.

The military junta's announcement on state radio and television was the first acknowledgment of the use of force against protesters and its first admission of bloodshed after a month of mostly peaceful demonstrations against the government.

The United States and the European Union condemned the attacks and called on the military rulers to open a dialogue with pro-democracy leaders, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to a joint statement on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

About 300 monks and activists were arrested on the ninth straight day of protests in Yangon, dissidents said. The number could not be independently confirmed.