The State Department said on Sunday Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had gone on a hunger strike to protest her detention by the country's military rulers and said Washington was concerned for her safety.

Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) speaks at a press conference in Yangon Feb 25, 1999 in this file photo. [Reuters]

"The United States has learned that Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is on a hunger strike to protest her illegal detention by that country's military regime," the State Department said in a statement.

"We are deeply concerned for her safety and well-being," it added.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was arrested on May 30 together with dozens of her supporters, after pro-government forces attacked her convey during a provincial tour, killing several opposition members and sparking international condemnation of the regime and calls for her release.

Washington called on authorities to release Suu Kyi and imprisoned supporters of her National League for Democracy.

"The Burmese authorities have full responsibility for her health, having placed her in so-called 'protective custody' since a May 30 premeditated attack on her convoy. They are also fully responsible for the welfare of all political prisoners," the State Department said.

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