YANGON: Myanmar’s junta declared a new post-earthquake truce on Tuesday (May 6), days after the expiry of a previous humanitarian ceasefire it was accused of violating with a continued campaign of air strikes.
The Mar 28 magnitude-7.7 quake near the central city of Mandalay killed nearly 3,800 and has left tens of thousands homeless as the summer monsoon season approaches.
Monitors say junta aerial bombardments breached the first truce in April – with the Britain-based Centre for Information Resilience logging 65 strikes, many in quake-hit regions.
A statement from the junta information team on Tuesday said the new armistice “to continue the rebuilding and rehabilitation process”, would last until the end of May.
The military – which seized power in a 2021 coup – warned the array of ethnic armed groups and anti-coup fighters it is battling that it would still strike back against any offensives.
“We have to protect the towns and people’s lives by using air strikes,” a military officer in the eastern state of Karen told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We are sorry that residents have to flee from their towns and villages because of fighting,” he added.
“Locals know very well which groups are threatening their lives.”
