Survivors of last week's powerful earthquake in Myanmar are urgently calling for more assistance as the death toll continues to climb.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake, which struck Friday, has killed more than 2,800 people and left thousands more homeless.
The earthquake, the largest to hit Myanmar in decades, caused widespread destruction. The U.N. and human rights organizations have called for an immediate halt to hostilities in the country’s ongoing civil war, urging all sides to focus on aiding the victims.
Despite some armed groups suspending hostilities to aid the recovery effort, Myanmar’s military junta, led by Min Aung Hlaing, has announced that military operations will continue. This has drawn widespread international criticism, particularly in light of multiple reported airstrikes.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists witnessed scenes of desperation in Sagaing, the city closest to the quake’s epicenter.
At least 200 people, many of them running through traffic, lined up for aid distribution, but locals have reported a lack of assistance even days after the disaster.
Ayethi Kar, 63, head of a school for young nuns, described the dire conditions. "Now we eat donated food and water, but we sleep on the ground," she said, noting the destruction of her school by the tremors.
Health care facilities are overwhelmed, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that hospitals are struggling to handle a large influx of patients. Supplies of food, water and medicine are rapidly running low.
Though hopes of finding more survivors are dwindling, two men were pulled alive from the ruins of a hotel in Naypyidaw on Wednesday, offering a rare moment of relief.
The junta reported that the death toll had risen to 2,886, with more than 4,600 injured and 373 still missing. However, due to poor communication and damaged infrastructure, the full scale of the disaster is not yet clear and the toll is expected to increase.
Relief efforts are being hampered by ongoing fighting between the junta and opposition armed groups, which began following the 2021 military coup.
Julie Bishop, the U.N. special envoy on Myanmar, called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. “All sides must focus on the protection of civilians and the delivery of life-saving aid,” she said.
Before the earthquake, 3.5 million people in Myanmar had already been displaced by the ongoing conflict, with many at risk of hunger, according to the United Nations.
In response to the crisis, an alliance of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed groups, the Three Brotherhood Alliance, announced a one-month pause in hostilities to allow for humanitarian efforts.
Similarly, the People’s Defence Force, a civilian group formed to fight the junta, also declared a partial cease-fire.
Despite these efforts, the junta continues to carry out military operations. Min Aung Hlaing stated that operations would continue in response to "sabotage" and other activities by ethnic armed groups.
Meanwhile, a Chinese Red Cross convoy was targeted by junta forces in Shan state after failing to stop during an aid delivery mission.
Tom Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, condemned the junta’s actions.
"These operations are neither necessary nor protective. They are outrageous and should be condemned by world leaders," he wrote on social media.
Amnesty International also condemned the military's actions, with researcher Joe Freeman stating, “You cannot ask for aid with one hand and bomb with the other.”
The crisis is not confined to Myanmar. In neighboring Thailand, the death toll from a collapsed 30-story skyscraper in Bangkok has risen to 22, with more than 70 people still trapped in the rubble.
The ongoing suffering in Myanmar and the region has drawn widespread international condemnation, with calls for the junta to prioritize aid and halt military operations that are only exacerbating the crisis.
