BANGKOK: Junta plans for elections in coup-hit Myanmar this year will "fuel greater violence", a United Nations special envoy said on Tuesday, calling for the international community to unite in opposition, reports AFP.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military toppled democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government almost two years ago, alleging massive fraud during elections her party won in 2020.

Any military-run elections "will fuel greater violence, prolong the conflict and make the return to democracy and stability more difficult", UN special envoy Noeleen Heyzer said in a statement.

She called for the international community to "forge a stronger unified position" on the planned polls.

The United States has said any elections would be a "sham". Close junta ally Moscow says it supports holding polls.

A spokesman for UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said on Monday he was "concerned by the military's stated intention to hold elections amid... ongoing arrests, intimidation and harassment of political leaders, civil society actors and journalists". "Without conditions that permit the people of Myanmar to freely exercise their political rights, the proposed polls risk exacerbating instability," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's junta on Tuesday said the country had "not returned to normalcy" almost two years after its coup, casting doubt over plans for elections and ending a state of emergency.  

A junta-imposed state of emergency is due to expire at the end of January, after which the constitution states that authorities must set in motion plans to hold fresh elections.

The military was widely expected to announce Wednesday that it would prepare for the polls.