Myanmar Military Junta Extends Ceasefire To Support Earthquake Assistance

Delivery of humanitarian aid to Myanmar. (Wikimedia Commons/Government of India)

Myanmar's ruling military junta has extended a temporary ceasefire in its conflict with armed civilian resistance groups until April 30, in a bid to accelerate relief and rebuilding efforts following last month's devastating earthquake, state media reported Tuesday.

An earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale late last month, centered near Myanmar's Mandalay City, has killed more than 3,700 people, razed society and crippled the country's infrastructure.

State media said senior junta leader Min Aung Hlaing extended the initial ceasefire for 20 days, which the junta called for on April 2, "as a form of sympathy and understanding for the people of the country affected by the Mandalay earthquake," quoted by Reuters on April 22.

Although a ceasefire was announced in early April, the junta continued military operations in some areas, including airstrikes, according to the United Nations (UN) and other groups.

Last week, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who led the ASEAN presidency this year, held rare high-level talks with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the main resistance group, in a bid to stop ongoing fighting and support humanitarian aid operations.

Myanmar has been hit by conflict since the 2021 military coup that toppled the elected civilian government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a massive protest movement that has grown into a national civil war.