Myanmar military seizes power, declares state of emergency for one year

YANGON: Myanmar's military seized power on Monday (Feb 1) in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids.

The army said it had carried out the detentions in response to "election fraud", handing power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for one year, according to a statement on a military-owned television station. 

Live updates: Aung San Suu Kyi, other Myanmar leaders detained

READ: Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior party figures detained by army

Phone lines to the capital Naypyitaw were not reachable and state TV went off air hours before parliament had been due to sit for the first time since the NLD's landslide election win in November, viewed as a referendum on Aung San Suu Kyi's fledgeling democratic government.

Soldiers took up positions at city hall in the main city of Yangon and mobile internet data and phone services in the NLD stronghold were disrupted, residents said. Internet connectivity also had fallen dramatically, monitoring service NetBlocks said.

Explainer: Crisis in Myanmar after army alleges election fraud

The detentions of Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders came after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the military that stirred fears of a coup in the aftermath of the election.

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