Thousands of people took to the streets of Yangon Friday for the 11th consecutive day of demonstrations against Myanmar’s military regime.

After security forces raided monasteries and cracked down on protests in the country’s largest city, fewer demonstrators faced out troops on Friday. Hundreds of monks and laymen were detained by government troops over the past two days, while more than a dozen people were killed in clashes, reports said.

The junta’s harsh response to the massive protests made people remain at home and demonstrations were smaller and less confrontational than the ones on Wednesday and Thursday.

After midday, people began gathering on the road leading to the central Sule Pagoda, the main meeting spot for protesters over the past days. But their path was blocked by security forces and they were forced to go back, without major incidents this time.

The army warned people that there are not allowed to approach Sule and four other pagodas in Yangon, but that warning didn’t stop demonstrators from taking to the streets.

They marched down two main streets in central Yangon, also known as Rangoon, but they were once again forced to back off when they met with heavily guarded roadblocks. Warning shots fired in the air along with tear gas shells drove the people away, another bloody clash being avoided.

This wave of anti-government protests was started on September 18 by Buddhist monks, who marched peacefully through the city’s streets for several days, as the junta supervised their every move.

After thousands of people decided to join the marches, the military-run government launched a violent crackdown on demonstrations Wednesday. Riot police and soldiers used tear gas, batons and even bullets to break up the protests. Dozens of people were injured and hundreds of monks were arrested after troops raided monasteries on Yangon’s outskirts early Thursday.

At least nine people died during Thursday’s incidents, one of them being a Japanese photojournalist. Other reports said more than 12 people lost their lives Thursday, including a revered Buddhist abbot who was viciously beaten by soldiers.

Due to the chaos and the government’s attempts to silence the media, the number of arrested monks or dead people is still unknown. Reports from the region said at least 300 monks were being detained at a school near the notorious Insein prison.

Foreign journalists are not allowed to enter Yangon and the authorities cut all Internet connections Thursday morning, the only source of video footage for people outside the country.

Protests broke out after the military regime decided to double fuel prices last month, a measure that deepened the economic crisis and sparked the anger of the impoverished population.

After government troops attacked monks, thousands of people took to the streets and protested against the violent crackdown on the highly-respected monkhood. Observers said protests are likely to break out over the weekend, many expressing concern over possible violent confrontations.