Myanmar Coup Leader Min Aung Hlaing Sworn In as President

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar's 2021 military coup, has been officially sworn in as the country's president following a landslide victory by a pro-military parliament. Five years after ousting elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and plunging the nation into civil war, Hlaing declared that Myanmar has returned to democracy during his inauguration in Naypyidaw. He pledged to enhance international relations and restore ties with ASEAN, which suspended Myanmar after the coup. The ceremony was attended by representatives from China, India, Thailand, and other nations. However, the election is widely criticized by Western governments and democracy watchdogs as a sham, with voting boycotted in rebel-held areas where over 96,000 people have died since the conflict began. Despite Hlaing's promises of amnesty and reconciliation, the multi-front civil war continues to rage against anti-coup armed groups.