Myanmar’s Military has seized power after detaining leader, Aung San Suu Kyi and other ruling party politicians.
CNN reports that “Myanmar woke up to widespread communications blackouts, closed banks, and soldiers in army fatigues patrolling the streets of Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. Residents turning on their television sets could only access the military-owned Myawaddy TV channel, with all other news channels seemingly blocked.
“As news filtered through that the country’s democratically-elected leaders had been detained in the capital — hours before the first session of the new parliament was set to open — a news anchor announced on the military-owned channel that power had been handed over to army chief Min Aung Hlaing.”
The military announced that it had detained the de facto civilian leader and several top politicians in the ruling party.
Justifying its action, the military said it seizes power in response to the irregularities that overwhelmed the recent election.
According to CNN, “Aung San Suu’s party, the NLD claimed an overwhelming victory, taking 83% of the vote, which granted it another five years in government. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party won 33 out of a possible 476 seats, far fewer than the party had expected.”
