News Desk

General Min Aung Hlaing, leader of Myanmar’s military junta, became the country’s interim president on Monday after figurehead leader Myint Swe was placed on medical leave, state media reported.

The State Administration Council Office, which is led by Hlaing, is the recipient of a letter from the Interim President’s Office informing it of the delegation of tasks, government broadcaster MRTV stated on Monday.

The 73-year-old Swe has been experiencing “psychomotor retardation” and “malnutrition” since early 2023, according to a report published on Friday by the state-owned Global New Light of Myanmar.

The report stated, “The Pro Tem President is receiving close medical treatment as a result of the State Administration Council’s arrangement, as he is unable to perform regular daily activities, including eating food.”

In February 2021, following a military coup, the junta appointed Swe as the acting president of the country. The coup resulted in the imprisonment of civilian leaders, such as the discredited Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and the installation of military supporters in their place.

After taking over, the junta initially pledged to organize elections in two years, but they have since been postponed. This month marks the end of the current state of emergency and military control.

Following the coup, the military has been engaged in a bloody civil war with a patchwork of local militias and pro-democracy organizations, which has resulted in a major loss of junta-controlled territory and soldiers.

The junta has “fivefold” increased its deadly aerial attacks against civilian targets in the last six months, according to Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, who spoke with CNN in June. This has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis as the junta tries to “scare” civilians into stopping their resistance to the military.