Myanmar Marks Second Anniversary Since Military Coup

Myanmar on Wednesday marked two years since the military coup with a nationwide "silent strike".

The overthrow of the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 derailed a decade of reform, international engagement and economic growth.

The country has been in chaos since the coup. Also, a military-backed security council is due to issue a statement that may decide whether to extend a state of emergency, ahead of an election this year.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party was decimated by the coup, with thousands of its members arrested or jailed, including Suu Kyi, and many more in hiding.

The party has decided that it would not acknowledge this year's planned election. The election has also been dismissed as a sham by Western governments.

According to the UN, around 1.2 million people have been displaced in the country and over 70,000 have left the country.

The United Nations has also accused the military of war crimes and crimes against humanity.