UN chief Antonio Guterres called Monday for the safe release of hundreds of Myanmar protesters "barricaded" inside apartment complexes in Yangon, where security forces are cracking down on demonstrations, his spokesman said.

The secretary-general "calls for maximum restraint and urges for the safe release of all without violence or arrests," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"Many of those trapped are women who are peacefully marching in commemoration of International Women's Day," he said.

© AFP