Myanmar’s military junta has continued to bomb parts of the war-torn country following the major earthquake there, which has killed more than 1,600 people.
Pro-democracy rebel groups that are fighting to remove the military from power have reported aerial bombings in Chang-U township in the northwestern Sagaing region, the epicentre of the quake. There are also reports of airstrikes in regions near the Thai border.
The National Unity Government (NUG), which represents the ousted civilian administration, said in a statement that its armed forces would begin a two-week pause in “offensive military operations, except for defensive actions” in areas affected by the earthquake, from Sunday.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Sagaing was also felt in neighbouring countries. It was followed by reports of destruction coming from nearby Mandalay – Myanmar’s second largest city – as well as the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, which is more than 150 miles (241km) away.
The junta says 1,644 people are known to have died, and many more are believed to be trapped under rubble.
The quake comes after four years of civil war in Myanmar that followed a military coup in 2021.
The coup triggered huge protests, with thousands taking to the streets daily, demanding the restoration of civilian rule.
Four years on, violent fighting has continued between the military on the one hand and ethnic armies and armed resistance groups on the other.
The junta, which has suffered continual and humiliating defeats and lost vast swathes of territory, is increasingly relying on air attacks to crush resistance to its rule.
Large parts of the Sagaing region, the epicentre of the earthquake, are now under the control of pro-democracy resistance groups.
The investigation revealed that ethnic armies and a patchwork of resistance groups now control 42% of the country’s land mass, while much of the remaining area remains contested.
The military has a history of carrying out indiscriminate aerial bombardments that have destroyed schools, monasteries, churches, and hospitals. In one of the deadliest airstrikes, more than 170 people were killed, including many women and children.
The UN body investigating human rights violations in the country has warned that the military junta is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against its people.
The military’s aerial warfare is being sustained by continued support from Russia and China. Despite UN calls for an arms embargo in response to the coup, both China and Russia have sold the junta sophisticated attack jets and provided training on how to use it.
Russia and China have also now sent aid and rescue teams into Myanmar. But UK-based Burmese rights activist Julie Khine said: “It’s hard to trust the sympathy now, when they’re also the same countries supplying the military junta with deadly weapons used to kill our innocent civilians.”
