NAYPYITAW, Jan. 31 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military rulers on Wednesday extended a state of emergency in place since a 2021 coup, as the junta battles to contain a bloody, pro-democracy rebellion that has severely tested its ability to govern.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing deemed it necessary to extend emergency rule for a further six months to undertake tasks necessary "to bring the nation to a normal state of stability and peace," military-run media outlet Myawaddy said on Telegram.
The generals are facing their biggest challenge since first taking power in the former British colony in 1962, with a youth-led pro-democracy uprising morphing into an armed resistance movement after a lethal crackdown on a wave of protests and post-coup dissent.
The junta has deployed heavy artillery and fighter jets to try to suppress militias allied with a shadow government and ethnic minority armies, several of which launched a coordinated offensive in October that stunned the military and has dented its battlefield credibility.
Marking the coup anniversary, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed "the urgency of forging a path towards a democratic transition with a return to civilian rule," said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
"An inclusive solution to this crisis requires conditions that permit the people of Myanmar to exercise their human rights freely and peacefully. The military's campaign of violence targeting civilians and political repression must end, and those responsible be held to account," Dujarric said.
About 2.3 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations, while efforts by Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbours to initiate dialogue have seen no progress, with the junta refusing to negotiate with what it calls "terrorists".
The extension of emergency rule came on the eve of the third anniversary of the military wresting back power in the coup citing unaddressed electoral irregularities, in an abrupt and unpopular end to a decade of tentative democracy and economic reform.
Photo from Reuters
