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Two years of turmoil: Myanmar's coup Yangon, Jan 31 (AFP) Jan 31, 2023 Myanmar's military seized power on February 1, 2021, ousting the civilian government and arresting its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 2,800 people have since been killed in the junta's bloody crackdown on dissent, according to the United Nations, while thousands more have been arrested. Here is a look back at the two years since the coup, which ended a decade-long experiment with democracy after half a century of military rule.
The generals claim fraud in the November 2020 election, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide. Their actions spark global condemnation, from Pope Francis to US President Joe Biden, and soon the United States, European Union and others announce sanctions.
Violent crackdowns on street protests escalate, and by March 11, Amnesty International says it has documented atrocities by the junta including the use of battlefield weapons on unarmed protesters. A day later, a UN rights expert on Myanmar accuses the military of crimes against humanity.
The next month, ousted civilian lawmakers forced into hiding announce the formation of a shadow "National Unity Government".
She faces an eclectic mix of charges, including illegally importing walkie-talkies and flouting Covid-19 restrictions during the 2020 elections.
The news sparks renewed outrage. A junta spokesman later says the pair, along with two others who were executed for allegedly killing an informer, "deserved many deaths".
The arrest came as Britain announced new sanctions on firms it said had helped raise funds for the military during its 2017 crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority. Bowman and her husband, prominent artist Htein Lin, are later jailed for a year. In November, they are freed in a mass amnesty, along with a Japanese journalist arrested at an anti-coup protest and an Australian former adviser to Suu Kyi detained since the early days of the coup.
In October, air strikes on a concert held by a major ethnic rebel group kill about 50 people and wound 70, according to the Kachin Independence Army, which has clashed regularly with the junta since the coup.
The junta gives no details on whether she will be allowed to serve her sentences under house arrest.
The United States has said any elections would be a "sham". Close ally Moscow says it supports holding polls.
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