The leader, who was seized in a morning raid, said the military was trying to re-impose dictatorship. “I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military,” a statement released in her name said. Military television announced on Monday morning that the army had taken control of the country for one year, with power handed to commander-in-chief General Min Aung Hlaing. It said the army had declared a state of emergency, and had detained senior government leaders in response to “fraud” during last year’s general election.
Phone and mobile internet services in Yangon were down on Monday morning and military trucks, one carrying barbed-wire barriers, were parked outside City Hall. State-run MRTV television said it had been unable to broadcast. Banks were closed across the nation.
