TNLA

 

Myanmar's military regime has announced a renewed ceasefire until the end of May, citing urgent recovery needs after a catastrophic earthquake killed nearly 3,800 people and left thousands homeless.

 

The truce, declared Tuesday (6 May), follows criticism that the junta violated a previous humanitarian ceasefire with continued air strikes—many of them in areas ravaged by the 28 March magnitude-7.7 quake near Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.

 

According to the UK-based Centre for Information Resilience, at least 65 air strikes were recorded during the earlier truce, intensifying fears among already displaced communities. The new armistice, the junta claims, is intended “to continue the rebuilding and rehabilitation process” as the monsoon season looms.

 

But the ceasefire comes with a warning. Military officials say they will still retaliate against attacks from ethnic armed groups and anti-coup resistance forces. “We are sorry that residents have to flee, but we must protect towns and people’s lives with air strikes,” a junta officer told AFP anonymously.

 

Fighting has continued in Karen state, a key battleground near the Thai border, where locals say clashes have made it impossible to return home. “We’re not quake victims, but we’re also homeless,” said Phaw Awar, a resident of the embattled town of Kyondoe. “We are afraid of air strikes.”

 

Some rebel groups have also declared unilateral ceasefires for humanitarian reasons, though sporadic fighting persists. A militia member aligned with the junta suggested that grassroots pro-democracy pressure is making a full truce elusive. “It’s difficult to resist the pressure to keep fighting,” he said.

 

The earthquake is the deadliest in Myanmar in over a century, and while efforts to recover are ongoing, many fear the pause in violence will be short-lived.

 

With Myanmar still deeply fractured from the 2021 military coup, even natural disaster recovery remains entangled in conflict.

 

-2025-05-07

Does anyone believe anything the Junta states, or even the freedom fighters / terrorist / drug dealers state.   Or how anything is reported in the news about Myanmar.