Satellite Images May Show Myanmar AbusesGroup Says Satellite Images Point To Possible Human Rights Abuses In MyanmarWASHINGTON , Sep . 28 , 2007 ( AP ) ( AP ) While the government ' s bloody crackdown on street demonstrations in Myanmar has drawn the world ' s attention , newly released satellite photos provide evidence that the military there has destroyed villages and forcibly relocated people in the countryside . Images collected over the last year focused on sites in eastern Myanmar , helping document reports of villages being burned or eliminated , new villages where people had been relocated and rapidly expanding military camps , Lars Bromley of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , said Friday . Meanwhile Myanmar soldiers clubbed and dragged away activists while firing tear gas and warning shots to break up demonstrations and the government cut Internet access , raising fears that a deadly crackdown would intensify . Troops also occupied Buddhist monasteries in a bid to clear the streets of Myanmar ' s revered monks , who have spearheaded the demonstrations , and estimates of the death toll ranged from 10 to 200 or more . Myanmar , also known as Burma , has become the focus of international pressure to curtail the violent repression of its citizens . " We are trying to send a message to the military junta that we are watching from the sky , " Aung Din , policy director for the U . S . Campaign for Burma , said Friday at a briefing on the photos . The American Association for the Advancement of Science said it compiled the satellite images from organizations operating in the country . Bromley , director of the association ' s Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights project , said they were obtained from commercial firms , using low - orbit satellites that pass over Myanmar every day or so . " Physical evidence of reported attacks on civilians sometimes can be subtle compared to the slash - and - burn types of destruction that we saw in Darfur or Zimbabwe . It ' s also a lush ecosystem where plants can quickly grow to cover burn marks and clouds and terrain often block satellite observation , " he said . Nonetheless , he said he was able to map the locations of many reported human rights violations . " Eighteen of the locations showed evidence consistent with destroyed or damaged villages , " he said . " We found evidence of expanded military camps in four other locations as well as multiple possibly relocated villages , and we documented growth in one refugee camp on the Thai border . "" These things are happening over quite a range , it ' s not just an isolated incident , " Bromley said . " We ' re not necessarily drawing conclusions about what happened to these villages , that comes form organizations we work with , " he explained . But , for example , there were reports of attacks on villages in April and satellite images later showed the blackened remains of burned villages . In addition , the photos showed several new villages near military camps , indicating forced relocations . Bromley said that since the demonstrations began in recent days satellites have been turned toward the major cities , but he noted that this is the cloudy season . " We are hoping for a gap in the clouds , " he said . Satellite images showed multiple burn scars in otherwise thick green forest in the Papun district and before - and - after images showed the removal of structures , consistent with eyewitness reports of village destruction . Signs of an expanded military presence , such as the buildup of bamboo fencing around a camp , and construction of a satellite camp , also were identified , Bromley said . Buildup of military camps and disappearance of villages and buildings were also documented in the Toungoo and Dooplaya districts . The military took control of Myanmar in 1962 and since then had regularly clashed with pro - democracy groups . Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi , a democracy advocate , has been detained by the military for years . The current crisis began Aug . 19 with rallies against a fuel price hike . It escalatd when monks began joining the protests . President Bush announced economic sanctions against Myanmar on Thursday , and other countries have also condemned the actions . First lady Laura Bush and Sen . Dianne Feinstein , D - Calif . , have previously condemned human rights violations in Myanmar . In a plea to Myanmar ' s ruling military regime , Mrs . Bush said earlier this week , " I want to say to the armed guards and to the soldiers : Don ' t fire on your people . Don ' t fire on your neighbors . " Her remarks were in a Voice of America interview . AAAS , a nonprofit general scientific society , previously used satellite technology to seek evidence of destruction in Darfur and Zimbabwe . The latest research was supported by the Open Society Institute and the John D . and Catherine T . MacArthur Foundation . ___ On the Net : AAAS : http : / / www . aaas . org