Eight days after a major earthquake in Myanmar, a large portion of the population is in urgent need of aid. But supplies appear to be being unfairly distributed by the military junta.
The death toll is rising. Nearly a week after a powerful earthquake in Myanmar, the death toll has risen sharply. State media is reporting 3,354 dead and 220 missing. Another 4,850 people have been injured. Aid agencies are warning of the risk of serious diseases such as cholera. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has accused the ruling junta in the Southeast Asian country of restricting aid supplies to communities that are not pro-regime. The military has not responded to the accusations.
Difficulty with healthcare
Aid to the earthquake-hit areas is being hampered by the aftermath of the civil war. The military overthrew the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. More than three million people have been displaced in the civil war that followed. Healthcare was already scarce before the March 28 earthquake, and many are now at risk of starvation. According to the UN, more than a third of the population is in need of humanitarian aid. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake was one of the most powerful to hit Myanmar in a century. Many buildings, including hospitals, collapsed, and entire communes were almost completely destroyed.
The ceasefire is not respected.
The head of the military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, traveled the day before to a regional summit in Bangkok, which caused strong protests in the neighboring country. In order to facilitate disaster relief and reconstruction in Myanmar, the junta on Wednesday (2.04.2025) declared a temporary ceasefire. But according to UN data (03.04.2025) the ceasefire is not being respected, since the middle of the week at least 16 military air strikes have been carried out on targets in various parts of the country, including in areas affected by the earthquake./ DW (A2 Televizion)
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