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Burmese Military Stage Coup, Detain Aung San Suu Kyi

HeadlineFeb 01, 2021

Burma’s military seized power in an early-morning coup d’état Monday, cutting internet access, canceling flights and detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top officials. Military rulers have declared a state of emergency for one year, ending a power-sharing agreement with Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy that followed elections in 2016. The coup unfolded hours before lawmakers were to take their seats in the opening of parliament, following a November election in which the military made unsubstantiated claims of fraud. Suu Kyi said in a statement the military had put Burma — which the military calls Myanmar — back under dictatorship, and urged people to protest. Suu Kyi spent years fighting against the Burmese military, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her efforts. But in recent years she has been condemned for presiding over a campaign of violence by Burma’s military against the minority Rohingya Muslim community, which saw over 1 million Rohingya flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

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