Myanmar junta extends emergency rule amid escalating conflict

(Reuters) - Myanmar's embattled military government extended a state of emergency on Wednesday for another six months, state media said, as the junta struggles to maintain its grip on power with fighting flaring on multiple fronts and the economy in crisis.

Army-run Myawaddy media said the military-controlled National Defence and Security Council extended emergency rule to give the junta more time to put together population data for voter lists. The junta has said it will hold an election next year.

The military put the country under emergency rule for a year when it took power in a February 2021 coup, deposing the elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering nationwide street protests that it violently crushed.

The junta has since extended that every six months, as the protest movement morphed into an armed rebellion that has widened and is now posing an existential threat to the generals.

"It is necessary to restore peace and stability because of ongoing terrorist activities," state-run media said of the latest extension, referring to the armed resistance.

Last week, all responsibilities of Myanmar's figurehead president were handed over to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, after the nominal head of state was placed on medical leave due to a prolonged illness.

Min Aung Hlaing has repeatedly promised to hold a multi-party election, with the general saying in June that polls will be conducted in 2025.

Previous election timelines have been postponed, citing the ongoing violence as the reason. Min Aung Hlaing has insisted the junta does not plan to hold power long.

The military took power after complaining of fraud in a November 2020 general election won overwhelmingly by Suu Kyi's party, which the party denied. Election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.

(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Editing by Martin Petty)