Myanmar military seizes the power: Aung San Suu Kyi under detention

The Head of the Myanmar's military has taken the control of the country in a coup and declared a state of emergency while detaining civilian political leaders including the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in an early morning raid.

Tensions between military and the government have been rising since the November election which marked a landslide victory for National League for Democracy party which was lead by Ms Suu Key. The military-backed opposition party denied the election results based on accusations about a Voter-List fraud. Myanmar's election commission has denied the claims of voter fraud, saying any errors such as duplicated names on voter lists were not enough to impact the result of the vote.

Amid accusations on possible voter fraud, the parliament was scheduled to convene on Monday for its first session since the election. On Monday morning, citizens of Myanmar were facing a widespread communication blackout and military personnel patrolling City Hall in Yangon. The only accessible media service was the military-owned Myanwaddy TV channel.

Policemen stand guard behind a road barricade, as a part of security preparations ahead of next week's opening of Myanmar's parliament in Naypyidaw. Photo: AP

Myanwaddy issued an announcement saying that the Election Commission didn't adequately address allegations of voter-list fraud, making a one-year state of emergency necessary to restore order and stability.

Controlling power has been transferred to the chief of the Myanmar Army, Min Aung Hlaing. 

Myo Nyunt, the spokesperson for the NLD confirmed the detentions, saying that, "State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and some other senior figures are being detained in Naypyidaw."

Several countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have already warned the Myanmar military against staging a coup.