YANGON, Myanmar: Myanmar's junta on Wednesday criticized an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) statement condemning military violence and the targeting of civilians as 'one-sided,' a day after it said it would not take up its upcoming chairmanship of the bloc.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since its armed forces mounted on Feb. 1, 2021 a coup that toppled the elected government of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, sparking mass protests and a bloody crackdown on dissent that a local monitoring group said has claimed thousands of lives.