Myanmar coup 5 years on: 'It has gone horrifically wrong for the military'

Issued on: 31/01/2026 - 11:45

This Sunday will mark five years since the military re-took control in Myanmar in a coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The military celebrated the anniversary by declaring a sweeping win for their political party in a general election, widely denounced as a sham. But, according to Mark Farmaner, director of the NGO "Burma Campaign UK", the five years since the coup have gone “horrifically wrong" for the military junta, which has lost control of vast swathes of the country to armed rebel groups.