YANGON, Oct 7, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A close ally of detained Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi died of leukaemia on Monday, a party source told AFP, days after being released from junta custody on health grounds.

Zaw Myint Maung, 72, was a stalwart of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party that has long opposed the military during its decades of rule.

He was arrested following the military's latest coup in 2021 and jailed for corruption. He was recently released on health grounds.

"We got confirmation of his death. It's a big loss for us as he was one of our NLD vice-chairmen," a senior party source told AFP, requesting anonymity to speak to the media.

The source said Zaw Myint Maung had died of leukaemia.

"Although we were prepared we might lose him one day, we are sorry for losing him in this difficult situation. We have to move forward for democracy with the leaders we have."

Zaw Myint Maung died in Mandalay's general hospital after being released from custody by the junta.

The former chief minister of Mandalay region was detained shortly after the 2021 coup that upended a 10-year experiment with democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.

The junta's subsequent crackdown on dissent has sparked armed uprisings across the country which the junta is struggling to crush.

Almost three million people have been forced from their homes by the conflict, according to the United Nations.

The junta's crackdown has decimated the senior ranks of the NLD.

Months after the coup Nyan Win, a former NLD spokesman and Suu Kyi confidante died of Covid-19 while being held in military custody for sedition.

In 2022 another former lawmaker was executed by the junta in Myanmar's first use of capital punishment in decades.

In March last year the junta dissolved the NLD for failing to re-register under a tough new military-drafted electoral law, removing it from polls it has indicated it may hold in 2025.

Suu Kyi, 79, is serving a 27-year prison sentence on charges ranging from corruption to not respecting Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

Rights groups say her closed-door trial was a sham designed to remove her from the political scene.

Last month Italian media reported that Pope Francis has offered refuge on Vatican territory to Suu Kyi, who led the government ousted by the military in 2021.