Myanmar’s governing military has declared a unilateral, temporary ceasefire in the country’s civil war to facilitate rescue efforts after last week’s powerful earthquake, as state television reported the death toll from the disaster had surpassed 3,000.
State television announced that the truce would last until April 22, 2025 and was aimed at showing compassion for people affected by Friday’s quake.
The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule.
The Three Brotherhood Alliance, one of a powerful group of militias that has taken a large swath of the country from the military, announced a unilateral one-month ceasefire on Tuesday to facilitate the humanitarian response.
The shadow opposition National Unity Government founded by lawmakers ousted in 2021 had already called a ceasefire for its forces.
The announcements had put pressure on the military government to follow suit.
The army said in a statement that the armed resistance groups must refrain from attacking the state, or regrouping, or else the military will take “necessary” measures.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the earthquake in Myanmar rose to 3,003, and more than 4,500 were injured.
As hopes of finding more survivors were fading on Wednesday, rescuers pulled two men alive from the ruins of a hotel in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, and a third from a guesthouse in another city – five days after the magnitude 7.7 quake.
However, most teams were finding only bodies.
In neighbouring Thailand, the death toll from the quake rose to 22, with hundreds of buildings damaged and 72 people missing.
China’s state news agency reported that the Chinese embassy in Myanmar delivered cash assistance worth 1.5 million yuan ($206,685) to the local Red Cross to help with relief efforts.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the media earlier that its rescue team and supplies were safe after Myanmar’s military government said its troops fired warning shots in the presence of a Chinese Red Cross aid convoy on Tuesday.
Guo Jiakun, a ministry spokesperson, said at a news conference that Beijing hoped “all factions and parties in Myanmar will prioritise earthquake relief efforts, ensuring the safety of rescue personnel and supplies from China and other countries.”
Guo added that it’s necessary to keep transportation routes for relief efforts open and unobstructed.
Military government spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said the Chinese Red Cross had not informed authorities it was in a conflict zone on Tuesday night, and a security team fired shots in the air after the convoy, which included local vehicles, failed to stop.
Military Government Urged To Allow Humanitarian Aid Access
Earlier on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch urged the military government to allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid and lift curbs impeding aid agencies.
It said that donors should channel aid through independent groups rather than only the authorities.
Bryony Lau, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, said in a report that Myanmar’s junta “cannot be trusted to respond to a disaster of this scale.”
“Concerned governments and international agencies need to press the junta to allow full and immediate access to survivors, wherever they are.”
Bryony Lau
The United Nations stated that more than 28 million people in the six regions were affected by the earthquake and that it put in place $12m in emergency funding for food, shelter, water, sanitation, mental health support and other services.
The rural parts of the hard-hit Sagaing region, mostly under the control of armed resistance groups fighting the military government, are among the most challenging for aid agencies to reach.
The earthquake came amid civil war in Myanmar, making a dire humanitarian crisis even worse.
According to the United Nations, more than 3 million people had been displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million were in need even before it hit.
