Emergency in Myanmar: Military takes control, arrests Aung San Suu Kyi

The military has staged a coup and taken control of the government in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

According to reports, the military television of the country has announced the imposition of a state of emergency in the country and the arrest of both the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint along with other political leaders.

While the constitutional head is the President, the governing head is the State Counsellor who rules the country.

In November 2020, elections were held in Myanmar in which National League for Democracy (NLD), a political party led by Suu Kyi, won majority seats.

The Army questioned the genuineness of the election process and held it fraudulent. Since then, the elected government and the Army were in a stressed relationship.

Since its independence in 1948, Myanmar remained under military rule till elections were held and a democratic government came to power in 2011.

Commander-in-chief of the military Min Aung Hlaing has taken the control of the government and the important cities like Yangon and the capital, Nay Pyi Taw have witnessed a large presence of the soldiers on the streets.

Ben Dunant, a Yangon-based journalist and Managing editor of Frontier Myanmar tweeted, "Credible sources say military arrests of Myanmar gov't officials have taken place across the country; several chief ministers of the states and regions have been seized, alongside the leaders in Nay Pyi Taw. Contacting Nay Pyi Taw proving hard; phone networks seemingly down."

Myanmar is one of the seven countries with which India shares its international border. India and Myanmar share their 1600 km land border and the maritime boundary as well in the Bay of Bengal.

Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram are the four North-Eastern states that share their international border with Myanmar.