YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s junta extended a state of emergency by six months as of yesterday, four years after it seized power triggering a civil war that claimed thousands of lives.
The country is mired in a bloody, multi-sided conflict stemming from the February 1, 2021 putsch that ended a 10-year experiment with democracy.
The military is struggling to contain armed resistance to its rule, suffering a series of damaging battlefield losses over the past year to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups in the north and west of the country.
The ruling military council headed by Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing unanimously approved the extension, the junta’s information team said in a statement.
“All members of National Defence and Security Council including the commander in chief as well as acting president decided in unison for the extension of the state of emergency for another six months,” the statement said.
