Myanmar Junta Marks Independence Day With Show Of Force

Naypyidaw, Myanmar, Jan 4 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Jan, 2023 ) :Myanmar troops and weaponry paraded through the military-built capital Naypyidaw to mark Independence Day Wednesday, days after the junta increased democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi's jail term to 33 years.

Swaths of the Southeast Asian country have been engulfed by fighting between junta troops and anti-coup rebels since the military seized power almost two years ago.

The junta, which recently wrapped up a series of closed-court trials of Suu Kyi, is preparing for fresh elections later this year that the United States has said would be a "sham".

Tanks, missile launchers and armoured cars rolled through the dawn air to a parade ground in the capital, AFP correspondents said, kicking off a military display marking 75 years since Myanmar gained independence from Britain.

Civil servants and high school students followed the troops, accompanied by a military band as 750 "peace" doves were released to mark the occasion, according to state media.

In a speech to assembled troops, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing accused unidentified countries of "intervening in Myanmar's internal affairs" since the February 2021 coup.