Myanmar’s junta chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, attends an army parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw in March 2023.
BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military regime said on Wednesday that it will extend a state of emergency for another six months until July 31, the fifth such extension since it ousted the country’s elected government three years ago as rebel ethnic groups gain ground in a renewed offensive.
The decision grants Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, commander in chief of the armed forces, the legal basis to exercise full legislative, executive and judicial powers for another six months and extends the rule of the State Administration Council (SAC), as the regime is known.
During the meeting of the National Defense and Security Council, a military-controlled body, Min Aung Hlaing reported on attacks occurring in some areas controlled by ethnic groups, among other administrative updates. He concluded that the extension is necessary as the country remains in an extraordinary situation, according to the regime’s announcement.
Min Aung Hlaing’s election promise was for August 2023, but he later cited instability in conflict-torn areas and the need to conduct a national census before a poll could be held.
He reiterated the election pledge in a meeting on Jan. 6 in Naypyitaw with election officials and political parties that had met the regime’s registration criteria. State media reported that Min Aung Hlaing said the SAC aimed to hold a free and fair election and hand over the state’s responsibilities to the party winning the election.
But the security situation in Myanmar has deteriorated, with conflict recorded in two-thirds of the country, according to United Nations agencies. Since major ethnic armed groups launched an offensive known as Operation 1027 in late October last year, at least 34 towns have fallen to the resistance, prompting the NDSC to hold a special meeting in November and declare a stricter form of martial law in parts of northeastern Shan state.
Ethnic resistance groups launched the operation across north and northeast Myanmar, targeting key towns along the border with China. After initially targeting so-called scam centers and releasing tens of thousands of human trafficking victims, resistance groups have expanded attacks against regime forces.
In central Myanmar, People’s Defense Forces groups linked to the shadow National Unity Government have intensified their attacks on the military in the face of an escalating campaign of aerial bombing and artillery strikes on civilian settlements. The Arakan Army has seized military bases in western regions near India and Bangladesh, while the Karen resistance has attacked highways key to cross-border trade with Thailand.
More than 600,000 people have fled their homes since the offensive began, with the total number of displaced reaching 2.6 million people. On Tuesday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said more than 1,600 civilians were killed in Myanmar in last year, with at least 554 killed since the October offensive.