Myanmar fighting continues despite the post-terre-terre ceasefire

Fighting was reported in Myanmar despite the military junta and a rebellious group alliance announcing a temporary ceasefire to support the relief of earthquakes.

Friday, the military had led at least 14 attacks since the ceasefire, according to reports received by the United Nations Human Rights Office.

The soldiers accused two rebel groups of the alliance which declared a cease-fire of carrying out attacks. A group said the fighting had broken out in response to the “offensives” by the military.

Major Gen Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the military council, has published a general statement saying “we will answer if the military bases are attacked without reason”. An army spokesperson did not respond to the request for comments from the BBC Burmese.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urged “a judgment to all military operations” and an objective “on assistance to those affected by the earthquake, as well as on unhindered access to humanitarian organizations” after the magnitude 7.7 earthquake on March 28.

A civil war was underway between the junta – who seized power in a coup in 2021 and ethnic militias and forces of resistance across the country.

The Military Council declared A 20-day ceasefire on April 2, after the alliance made up of three rebel groups announced one.

The official balance sheet of the earthquake in Myanmar increased to 3,564 on Monday, according to the state media. 5,012 other people were injured and 210 people remain missing.

More than a week after the earthquake, the rescuers recovered the bodies of the rubble of collapsed buildings in Mandalay during the weekend, the media reported.

The rain also fell over the weekend, which, according to the aid groups, could hinder rescue efforts.

The United Nations Human Rights Office said on Friday that if humanitarian efforts had progressed in the areas where access had been granted, “the long -standing limits imposed by the military on humanitarian operations and access” meant that several seriously affected areas “have remained inaccessible to humanitarian emergency – except what can be organized by residents”.

UN humanitarian leader Tom Fletcher said in a video filmed in Mandalay on Saturday that people “needed food. They needed water. They need power. They tell me that they need shelter.”

The aftershocks continue, with an earthquake of amplitude of 4.9 recorded during the weekend, and people “live with this trauma,” he said.

Before the earthquake, nearly 20 million people already needed in this community, he added.

“It is therefore an aggravated crisis. It is an earthquake, in addition to conflicts, in addition to enormous existing needs,” he said.