Myanmar conflict under control, junta chief says

The crisis in Myanmar is under control and the ruling military will do all in its power to hold elections next year as planned, providing the vote can be free from foreign interference, its leader said.
Speaking to Russian news agency RIA in a rare interview published on Wednesday, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said it was too soon to discuss postponing the elections, tentatively slated for August next year, and the junta still had plenty of time to restore order.
“We promised that we would hold elections in the near future, and we are trying with all our might to fulfil this,” Min Aung Hlaing said, according to a Russian translation.
“In addition, elections must be held without external pressure, otherwise they will not be fair and transparent. And we will carry out our own elections without external pressure.”
Myanmar has been in turmoil since Min Aung Hlaing led a coup in February 2021 against Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, arresting its leadership and detaining thousands of activists and protesters.