Myanmar troops and weaponry paraded by means of the military-built capital Naypyidaw to mark the nation’s independence day Wednesday, days after the junta jailed democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi for 33 years.

Swathes of the Southeast Asian nation have been engulfed by combating between junta troops and anti-coup rebels because the army seized energy nearly two years in the past.

The junta, which not too long ago wrapped up a sequence of closed-court trials of Suu Kyi, is making ready for contemporary elections later this 12 months that the United States has stated can 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 parade marking 75 years since Myanmar gained independence from Britain.

Civil servants and high school students followed the troops, accompanied by a military band.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was greeted by a 21-gun salute as he arrived on the parade floor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent “sincere greetings” and anticipated the “additional improvement” of relations, according to state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar.

Russia is a major ally and arms supplier of the isolated junta, which has said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine was “justified”.

Myanmar declared independence from British colonial rule on January 4, 1948 after a protracted combat championed by General Aung San, the daddy of ousted civilian chief Suu Kyi.

Independence Day is generally marked with festive road video games, marches and gatherings in public parks and areas.

But because the putsch, celebrations of public holidays have been largely muted as folks keep at house in protest in opposition to the junta.

AFP correspondents stated there was an elevated safety presence in industrial hub Yangon, which has been hit by a string of bomb assaults in current months.

The US embassy warned of a “potential will increase in assaults, focused shootings, or explosions” on Wednesday.

The military has cited massive alleged voter fraud during elections in November 2020, which were won resoundingly by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, as a reason for its coup.

International observers said at the time the polls were largely free and fair.

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