YANGON - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in New York that his special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, had delivered 'the strongest possible message' to Myanmar's military leaders about their bloody crackdown on democracy activists, but added that he couldn't call Mr Gambari's four-day trip 'a success'.

Mr Ban will be discussing the Myanmar issue with the UN Security Council on Friday.

Anti-junta demonstrations broke out in mid-August over a fuel price hike, then ballooned when monks took the lead last month. But the military crushed the protests a week ago with bullets, tear gas and clubs. The government said 10 people were killed, but dissident groups put the death toll at up to 200 and say 6,000 people were detained, including thousands of monks.

A UN Development Program employee, Ms Myint Nwe Moe, and her husband, brother-in-law and driver were among those detained, the UN agency said. Three other UN staffers were detained and subsequently released, said Charles Petrie, the UN humanitarian chief in Myanmar.

In Brussels, European Union nations agreed to expand sanctions against the military regime. Diplomats said extra sanctions would include an expanded visa ban for members of the military junta, a wider ban on investment and a ban on trade in metals, timber and gemstones.

But the new measures do not include a specific ban on European oil and gas companies from doing business in Myanmar, diplomats said.

For now, people who took part in the recent protests say they're too afraid to return to the streets.

One 29-year-old in Yangon, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being identified, said he had joined the protests but stopped after seeing plainclothes security agents taking his picture. Now he wonders if there's any hope for change.

'If the United Nations can't do anything, we will have big difficulties overcoming our present situation,' he said. -- AP