Bangkok [Thailand], March 31: Opposition forces in Myanmar's years-long civil war have declared a ceasefire as the country struggles to rescue survivors from a devastating earthquake feared to have killed thousands.
The country's democratic shadow government announced a two-week unilateral pause in its fighting with the ruling military junta on Sunday, noting that "defence operations" are excluded from this.
Myanmar was hit by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday, which has killed around 1,700 people and injured 3,400 so far according to state TV. At least 300 people are still missing. However, casualty figures could rise by thousands due to the proximity of populated areas and the vulnerability of many structures, officials fear.
The National Unity Government (NUG) wrote on X that the "suspension of all offensive military operations" is to take place in the "earthquake-affected areas and related districts."
The military junta continued its attacks against rebel groups shortly after the earthquake struck on Friday, according to media reports. In an interview with the BBC, the UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on the junta to halt all military operations.
The NUG has been fighting the junta since shortly after the military took power in a coup in 2021. Before Friday's earthquake, some 3.5 million people had been forced to flee their homes during fighting between ethnic groups and the army since the military coup.
Photos circulating online show several collapsed houses and bridges, while a hospital in the state of Shan appears to have been completely destroyed. In the capital Naypyidaw, an air traffic control tower at the international airport collapsed, killing at least six people.
Even two days after the earthquake, numerous aftershocks were still occurring, with a 5.1-magnitude quake hitting north of Mandalay on Sunday at a depth of around 10 kilometres.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Thailand, the death toll in Bangkok has risen to 17, Thai authorities said, as rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed high-rise building. At least 83 people remain missing, authorities said, adding that 32 others have been reported injured. Rescue teams are concentrating on a collapsed 30-storey skyscraper in Bangkok.
Source: Qatar Tribune