New Delhi - Burma's military rulers have secretly extended the term of house arrest of the Vice- Chairman of the opposition party, National League for Democracy, a source in Rangoon said.

 Tin Oo completes five years of continuous detention but it was extended to yet another year of house arrest on Friday, the source added.

 With the Burmese military junta not in the habit of making public announcements of such extensions, the information could not be independently verified. But Nyan Win, NLD spokesperson told Mizzima that it is possible that Tin Oo's house arrest has been extended.

 "I am not sure if his [Tin Oo] house arrest has been extended but since he is completing five years of detention today it is possible for the government to extend it," Nyan Win said.

 Similarly, a journalist in Rangoon told Mizzima that he had also heard of the rumour of the extension, though he could not confirm whether it was read out to him on Friday.

 "From what I heard from family sources, it is likely that it will be extended but I have not been able to confirm whether it has been announced," the journalist said.

 Tin Oo, who would complete 82 years in March, was last arrested along with Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD members during a political tour in upper Burma after their convoy faced a murderous attack by junta-backed thugs in Depayin in May 2003.

 The retired General Tin Oo was detained in Kalemyo prison in Sagaing division in upper Burma and later sent back to his home in Rangoon in 2004, where he was kept under house arrest.

Tin Oo completes continuous detention of five years on Friday and according to the NLD Burmese law does not permit extension of his arrest.