Myanmar junta extends state of emergency until February 2023

Myanmar's junta has extended the state of emergency in the country for another six months until February 2023.

Military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stressed at a meeting of the Security Council that the measure was necessary to restore peace and order, the state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday.

The proposal was unanimously approved, it said. According to the newspaper, the military also held out the prospect of elections, but did not give a date.

Myanmar has been in political turmoil since February 1, when ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested, hours before the military overthrew the country's democratically elected civilian leaders and returned to military rule.

In June, Suu Kyi was transferred from house arrest to a prison in the capital Naypyidaw. She faces 11 corruption charges, each of which carries a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

Last week, the military junta executed four dissidents who were found guilty on charges of terrorism in January, in its first use of the death sentence since 1990.

Among those executed were former member of parliament Phyo Zeya Thaw and democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu.

According to rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 1,900 people were killed and more than 14,000 arrested since the coup.