Suu Kyi in hospital after surgery

Burma's detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, underwent surgery yesterday for an unspecified gynaecological condition, hospital officials said.

The precise nature of her surgery was not revealed but doctors at the Asia Royal Cardiac and Medical Centre in the capital, Rangoon, described the operation as a success and said there were no complications.Members of Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party said she would only accept medical treatment from her personal physician, Dr Tin Myo Win, who was seen at the hospital yesterday.

Ms Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1991, has been in detention since 30 May after a clash between her supporters and a government-backed mob. It is the third time she has been detained since 1989.

Earlier this month, the US State Department said it had received credible reports that Ms Suu Kyi had begun a hunger strike. A Red Cross official said later that she was not fasting, after a team from the organisation visited her.

The Burmese military seized power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy uprising. It held elections in 1990 but refused to recognise the results when the NLD won. After her latest arrest, the junta cracked down on the NLD, ending a reconciliation process brokered in October 2000 by a United Nations special envoy. (AP)