The ruling junta in Myanmar has warned that it will do “whatever it takes” to crush opposition to its rule.
Myanmar entered on Thursday its third year since the coup against the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 1, 2021, by the military forces.
Across the country, huge marches against the coup were met by a brutal and sustained crackdown that sent thousands of protesters seeking ways to fight back.
The announcement came after the military extended a state of emergency, further delaying a timetable for fresh elections it has promised to hold.
More than 4,400 people have been killed in the military’s crackdown on dissent and over 25,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.
Clashes and reprisals have ravaged swathes of Myanmar since, forcing more than two million people to flee their homes, according to the UN.
Junta groups have torched villages, carried out extrajudicial killings and used air strikes and artillery bombardments to punish communities opposed to its rule, opponents and rights groups say.
