Myanmar’s military junta has extended the ceasefire that it announced in the wake of last month’s deadly earthquake, with the aim of “accelerating reconstruction and rehabilitation measures in the quake-affected areas.”
In a statement dated April 22 and published in state-run media outlets yesterday, the junta announced that it has extended the current ceasefire to April 30. It said that “utmost efforts must be made to rebuild damaged government offices and departments, public housing, and transport facilities,” adding, “If all national brethren of the Union collaborate, the situation of quake-affected areas will return to normal as rapidly as possible.”
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit central Myanmar on March 28 has left at least 3,759 people dead and more than 5,100 injured as of April 22, according to the junta’s own accounting. Another 114 people remain missing.
The earthquake has caused considerable destruction across Myanmar’s central dry zone, destroying bridges, roads, schools, pagodas, and thousands of buildings. The destruction is particularly serious in Sagaing Region – the epicenter of the quake – and in nearby Mandalay Region. Around 80 percent of government buildings and staff apartments in the capital Naypyidaw were reportedly destroyed by the earthquake, forcing the military council to relocate some ministries to Yangon.
In the wake of the devastation, the opposition National Unity Government and a powerful alliance of ethnic armed groups announced ceasefires in order to facilitate recue and relief efforts. On April 2, the junta then followed suit, announcing its own ceasefire until April 22.
The announcement of the extension comes after Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim flew to Bangkok for a meeting with junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Prior to the talks, which were roundly condemned by critics of the ruling military council, Anwar said that he would push for an extension of the junta’s ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian efforts in the disaster zone.
However, despite Anwar’s urging that the Myanmar military respect the ceasefire, it is unclear whether the extension means very much. Since April 2, the junta’s opponents have accused it of repeated breaches of the ceasefire, including via air strikes on resistance-held regions of the country.
On April 22, Myanmar Now reported that junta airstrikes on April 19-20 killed more than 40 people and wounded over 60 across four states and regions, “including children and pregnant women.” Air strikes also reportedly took place in northern Shan State on April 22, where junta fighters attacked a village about 19 kilometers southwest of the town of Nawnghkio. This is currently held by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, a member of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which announced its own one-month “unilateral humanitarian pause” on April 1.
The junta’s announcement, like its last, warned resistance groups not to attack military forces or state infrastructure, engage in recruitment, or do anything to “harm” the mostly non-existent “peace process.” Failing this, the military reserved the right to “take necessary actions and respond as part of protecting the people.” Given the unilateral nature of the ceasefire, and the zero-sum nature of the conflict in Myanmar, it was always optimistic to expect that it would hold.