Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other leading figures from the ruling National League for Democracy were detained by the military early Monday, a spokesman for the party told Reuters and other international news outlets.
Communications in parts of the country, including the capital, also appear to have been cut or hindered, according to reports.
The moves have sparked fears that a coup is underway in the Southeast Asian country after the military disputed the results of the Nov. 8 election. Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD won in a landslide victory, capturing 396 out of 476 seats, allowing the party to form a government for five more years.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party, a military-backed party, won just 33 seats.
On Jan. 29, the country’s election commission rejected allegations by the military that the election was fraudulent.
The same day, several Western diplomatic missions, including the U.S, issued a statement urging “the military, and all other parties in the country, to adhere to democratic norms.”
“We oppose any attempt to alter the outcome of the elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition,” the statement said.
Read More: Aung San Suu Kyi Defends Myanmar Against Rohingya Genocide Allegations at The Hague
Suu Kyi won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her non-violent resistance against the military dictatorship that kept her under house arrest for 15 years. But more recently, she faced international scorn for her response to a violent crackdown by security forces against the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim ethnic minority. U.N. investigators determined that the violent campaign of arson, rape and murder was carried out with genocidal intent. But Suu Kyi has publicly rejected accusations that the military waged a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya.
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