Myanmar's Junta rejects quake ceasefire, death toll hits 2,719

By Myanmar Now, April 2: Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar’s ruling junta, has categorically rejected ceasefire proposals from ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) intended to facilitate desperately needed earthquake relief.

Instead, he has declared a continuation of military operations, a move that directly undermines humanitarian efforts as the earthquake’s death toll escalates to 2,719 with 400 still missing and over 4,000 injured.

Despite a temporary halt in EAO attacks following the earthquake, Min Aung Hlaing accused these groups of exploiting the pause to regroup and conduct military training. “Some ethnic armed groups may not be actively engaging in battles right now, but they are gathering and training in preparation for attacks. Since this is a form of aggression, the military will continue necessary defense operations,” he said during a fundraising event in Naypyidaw on Tuesday.

The ceasefire proposal, aimed at enabling unhindered aid delivery, was put forth by the National Unity Government (NUG) and allied EAOs: the Arakan Army (AA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). Min Aung Hlaing’s rejection underscores the ongoing conflict, even as the nation reels from the earthquake.

The junta’s simultaneous crackdown on the private health sector and the suppression of striking public hospital doctors has further crippled access to vital medical care, compounding the suffering of the injured.

Continued military offensives

While global attention remains focused on the earthquake’s destruction, Myanmar’s military has continued its attacks against resistance groups across the country.

On the day of the quake, the military launched airstrikes on Naung Len, a village in Shan State’s Nawnghkio Township, killing seven members of the Danu People’s Liberation Army and injuring three civilians. Meanwhile, in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U Township, locals reported that regime forces bombed villages using paramotors.

The attacks intensified the following day, with military shelling reported in Sagaing’s Pale Township, near the village of Inn Ma Htee, a stronghold of the junta-backed Pyu Saw Htee militia.

On Sunday, as the earthquake’s death toll continued to rise, the regime expanded its attacks, launching airstrikes near Bhamo in Kachin State and drone strikes in Hpakant and Waingmaw townships. 

Junta airstrikes were reported in Karenni State’s Hpruso Township and Rakhine State’s Kyaukphyu Township, where military drones dropped bombs on a village. On Monday, naval shelling killed two civilians, including a Buddhist monk, in Zin Chaung Kon Bway, while an airstrike on Mrauk-U killed a 66-year-old man.

The junta also carried out four airstrikes in Magway Region’s Salin Township on Monday, while drone attacks continued in northern Shan State’s Nawnghkio Township.