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ASEAN envoy to lead humanitarian mission to Myanmar

Reuters
ASEAN envoy to lead humanitarian mission to Myanmar

MANILA, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The ‌Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN's special envoy on Myanmar will lead a humanitarian ​mission ‌to the country starting on Wednesday, ASEAN chair ‌the Philippines said.

• The two-day visit by Ma. Theresa Lazaro, the Philippine foreign secretary, will include a ‌trip to Myanmar's Shan State and engagements in the capital Naypyitaw

• No details were provided on the engagements

• Myanmar's army-backed government has yet to ⁠confirm the trip. In August it said ‌there was no longer a ⁠need for a special envoy

• Lazaro has previously ​requested access to Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained since she ​was toppled from power in a ​2021 ‌military coup

• The country is locked in a civil war ​that followed the coup, with an estimated ⁠100,000 people killed and more ‌than 3.5 million ​displaced

• Myanmar's top leadership ​remains barred from attending top ASEAN meetings due to a lack of compliance with an ASEAN-led peace plan

• Some ASEAN members, however, ‌have recently welcomed coup leader Min Aung Hlaing for official visits, including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, ‌Cambodia and ​Laos

• Min Aung Hlaing was elected president in April after a lopsided election dominated by an army-backed party and is seeking re-engagement with ASEAN

(Reporting ‌by Karen Lema; Editing by Martin Petty)