On the same day that Myanmar’s parliament was due to begin a new session, the military staged a coup and arrested Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Tensions had been rising in the country for weeks. After losing parliamentary elections in November, the army-backed opposition claimed the poll was rigged. The coup marks a sharp reversal of the democratic progress the nation had made following five decades of military rule. We take a closer look.

This post was originally published on Access Asia.