YANGON, Myanmar: Myanmar's military government has extended its state of emergency for another six months, state media said on Monday, with its chief saying elections could only take place once the conflict-wracked country was "stable and peaceful." The junta declared a state of emergency after ousting Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government on Feb. 1, 2021, plunging the Southeast Asian country into turmoil. The junta chief also invited the leaders of a number of the country's established ethnic rebel groups for the second round of face-to-face meetings. Myanmar has about 20 ethnic rebel armies — many of which control swathes of remote border territory — and have fought each other and the military for decades. Several ethnic rebel groups attended a first round of "peace talks" with the junta in May, although groups fighting alongside anti-junta rebels stayed away.

Source: Manila Times August 02, 2022 04:12 UTC