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Yangon: Myanmar's military rulers have extended opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest by six months, a Home Ministry source said on Tuesday.
Earlier Myanmar's military rulers increased security around the home of the opposition leader.
At least 20 members of the Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested by riot police as they tried to march to her home, which has been sealed off with barbed-wire barricades, witnesses said.
Few expect the military to do anything but roll over the 62-year-old Nobel laureate's detention order, even though such a move is bound to create tensions with Western nations who have promised millions of dollars in cyclone aid.
Donors pledged nearly $50 million in aid at a landmark conference on Sunday in the wake of Cyclone Nargis which has left 134,000 people dead or missing and another 2.4 million clinging to survival.
Police trucks, a prison van and a fire engine were parked near the headquarters of Suu Kyi's NLD party, which is due to hold a ceremony later in the day.
Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the last 18 years in prison or under house arrest. Her party won more than 80 per cent of seats in a 1990 election, but was denied power by the military, which has ruled since a 1962 coup.
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