Myanmar Conflict Rages On Despite Earthquake Ceasefires
Clashes continue across Myanmar despite ceasefires declared by both the military junta and an ethnic rebel alliance following the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28 that has killed at least 3,564 people and injured over 5,000.
Reports from the UN Human Rights office reveal that the military has launched at least 14 attacks since the temporary truce began on April 2. Meanwhile, the military blames rebel factions for provoking renewed violence.
One rebel group claimed hostilities resumed in self-defense after junta offensives. Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the military council, stated, “we will respond if military bases are attacked without reason.”
The UN’s Volker Türk called for an immediate end to hostilities and urged full humanitarian access amid mounting needs and trauma from the earthquake’s destruction, especially in the worst-hit city of Mandalay.
Humanitarian Crisis Mounts
According to state media, bodies were still being pulled from the rubble in Mandalay over the weekend, while aftershocks and heavy rains hampered rescue and relief efforts. 210 people remain missing.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, speaking from Mandalay, emphasized urgent needs: “People need food, water, shelter and power… They’re living with trauma and sleeping in the open.”
Though humanitarian access has improved in some areas, the UN warns that military restrictions continue to block aid to severely affected regions. Local residents are forced to organize relief independently in many cases.
More than 20 million people were already in need before the quake, creating a compound crisis of natural disaster layered over civil war and economic hardship.
Despite the ceasefire announcements, hope for peace and coordinated aid remains fragile, as fighting undermines relief efforts and prolongs the suffering of millions across Myanmar.
