Bangkok: Myanmar's former military dictator Ne Win, who ruled the country for 26 years, died on December 5 while under house arrest. He was 91.

Ne Win died at the lakeside villa in Yangon where he was kept in confinement with his daughter since March 7, reports from Yangon said quoting family members.

The general was put under house arrest after his three grandsons and son-in-law were arrested on charges of attempting to overthrow the military government. The four were sentenced to death in September, but they have appealed the verdict.

Ne Win led Myanmar's struggle for Independence from Britain, which was achieved in 1948, and he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1962.

He retired from politics in 1988, just before an uprising for Democracy triggered by his misrule and which brought Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Independence figure Gen Aung San, to political prominence.

PTI