Myanmar earthquake: Military regime targeting ‘civilian areas’ with airstrikes in wake of disaster, armed group claims
An armed resistance group in Myanmar has accused the ruling military government of continuing to carry out airstrikes on “civilian areas” in the wake of the huge earthquake in the country.
The 7.7 magnitude quake struck near the city of Mandalay at around 12.50m local time (6.20am UK time) on Friday while Myanmar is in the grips of a bloody civil war.
The number of people confirmed dead after the quake stands at more than 1,700, with 3,400 others injured and 300 missing, according to pro-military government Telegram channels, citing the country’s rulers.
Chinese rescuers prepare to carry out a search and rescue operation in Mandalay. Pic: Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua via AP)
But the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) predictive modelling estimates that the number of dead will increase into the thousands, and could reach 10,000.
It comes as rescue and relief efforts in the country have been hampered by the ongoing civil war, which has raged since 2021.
Buddhist monks walk past a collapsed building in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Pic: AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo
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Monks film as building collapses
The Karen National Union (KNU), one of Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armies, has said in a statement that the military government, known as a junta, is continuing to “carry out airstrikes targeting civilian areas”.
It said the strikes come “even as the population suffers tremendously from the earthquake”.
The KNU said that under normal circumstances, the military would be prioritising relief efforts after an earthquake, but instead it is focused on “deploying forces to attack its people”.
The Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation, said military jets launched airstrikes and drone attacks in Karen state, near the KNU headquarters, in the south of the country, shortly after the quake on Friday.
It came before there were reports of mortar and drone attacks on Saturday.
A Karen National Union soldier in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The junta has not confirmed whether or not it has been carrying out strikes since the disaster.
The epicentre of the quake was in an area held by junta forces, but the devastation is widespread and also affected some territory held by armed resistance movements.
On Sunday, the opposition National Unity Government, which includes remnants of the government ousted in a 2021 coup, said anti-junta militias under its command would pause all offensive military action for two weeks.
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Rescuers look for survivors of Myanmar earthquake
A Buddhist monk walks near a pagoda in Mandalay after the earthquake. Pic: AP
Richard Horsey, the senior Myanmar adviser at Crisis Group, which works to resolve armed conflicts, said some anti-junta forces have halted their offensives, but fighting continues elsewhere.
“The regime also continues to launch airstrikes, including in affected areas. That needs to stop,” he said.
He claimed that the junta was not providing much visible support in quake-hit areas.
“Local fire brigades, ambulance crews, and community organisations have mobilised, but the military – who would normally be mobilised to support in such a crisis – are nowhere to be seen,” Mr Horsey said.
The junta broke its self-imposed isolation to appeal for help from the outside world following the earthquake. However, the country’s inaccessibility will likely remain a huge obstacle to aid efforts.
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Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar. Pic: Reuters
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The junta has said the earthquake is one of Myanmar’s strongest in a century – while the USGS suggests financial losses due to the disaster could exceed the country’s annual economic output.
While emergency rescue teams have started trickling into the area hardest hit by the quake, efforts have been hindered by damaged roads, downed bridges, poor communications and the challenges of operating in a country in the middle of a civil war.
Many areas still have not been reached.
Rescuers workers at the site of a collapsed building in Mandalay: Pic: Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua via AP
A building tilts precariously in Mandalay, Myanmar. Pic: Reuters
Most rescues occur within the first 24 hours after a disaster, with the chances of survival diminishing as each day passes.
Neighbouring Thailand was also shaken, such as in the capital, Bangkok, where 18 people were killed, including 11 who died when an under-construction skyscraper collapsed. At least 76 people are missing and believed to be trapped under the debris.
Twelve Chinese nationals are among the injured, according to Chinese state media.
The earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand, and tremors also affected Laos, Vietnam, and Bangladesh
Debris of a damaged building in Mandalay. Pic: AP
An initial report on earthquake relief efforts issued on Saturday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted the severe damage or destruction of many health facilities in Myanmar.
And it warned that a “severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anaesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers”.
India, China and Thailand are among the neighbours that have sent relief materials and teams, along with aid and personnel.
The UK government has announced a package of £10m to support the people of Myanmar in the aftermath of the quake.
Four years of civil war
Myanmar has been locked in a conflict involving multiple armed opposition groups since a 2021 coup, when the military seized power from the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Many places are now dangerous or impossible for aid groups to reach.
More than three million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.
Donald Trump has said there is a “good chance” of peace between Russia and Ukraine – but added the US has a red line in upcoming talks.
After a two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin, the US president announced on Monday that Russia–Ukraine discussions will begin “immediately”.
It is unclear how these will differ from negotiations that already started in Turkey last Friday.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later on Monday, Mr Trump said he does have a red line on when he’ll stop pushing Moscow and Kyiv for peace – but would not say what it is.
There are “big egos involved”, he said before adding: “This was a European situation, it should have remained a European situation.”
The US president also claimed he asked Mr Putin on their call: “When are we going to end this bloodbath?”
He said of the Russian president: “I do believe he wants to end [the war].”
“My whole life is deals, one big deal, and if I thought that President Putin did not want to get this over with, I wouldn’t even be talking about it because I’d just pull out,” he added.
The US president spoke to his Russian counterpart on Monday as part of a bid to push the two countries towards agreeing a truce in the war.
Donald Trump speaking in the Oval Office on Monday. Pic: AP
In a Truth Social post, published shortly after the call, Mr Trump said Russia and Ukraine “will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war”.
Mr Trump continued: “Russia wants to do large-scale trade with the United States when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is over, and I agree.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to create massive amounts of jobs and wealth. Its potential is unlimited.”
Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Moscow last week. Pic: AP
Ukraine “can be a great beneficiary on trade, in the process of rebuilding its country”, he said.
The Vatican “has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations”, Mr Trump added. He signed off his post with: “Let the process begin!”
Mr Putin found the call “informative, frank and very useful”, Russian news agency RIA reported.
“A ceasefire in the situation in Ukraine for a certain period of time is possible if appropriate agreements are reached,” the Russian leader reportedly said.
Discussions are ‘positive,’ says Zelenskyy
The US president spoke separately to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and various European leaders.
At a briefing after the day’s calls had taken place, Ukraine’s leader said he told Mr Trump that Russia “might propose some particularly difficult conditions” for a ceasefire – which could be “a sign that it is the Russian side that is unwilling to end the war”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to reporters after his own call with Mr Trump. Pic: Reuters
“I think we are still discussing the very possibility of strong and severe sanctions [on Russia],” he continued. “I don’t yet have an answer to that question.”
Kyiv is considering the possibility of a meeting between “high-level” teams from Ukraine, the US, Russia and some European countries, Mr Zelenskyy said, describing the talks on Monday as “positive”.
He continued: “Such a meeting could take place in Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland. We are currently considering these three venues, as all three countries – all three venues – are neutral.”
European leaders and Ukraine have demanded Russia agree to a ceasefire immediately, and Mr Trump has focused on getting Mr Putin to commit to a 30-day truce. The Russian president has resisted that, insisting that conditions be met first.
The Trump-Putin call came as Russia has continued to target Ukraine with attacks.
Moscow on Monday claimed its forces have taken two villages in Ukraine, according to state news agency RIA.
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Russia recently began pushing into the Sumy region after claiming it had ousted Kyiv’s forces from Russia’s neighbouring Kursk region.
RIA cited the defence ministry as saying Novoolenivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, and Marine, in Sumy, have now been taken by Russian forces.
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Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 112 drones over various parts of the country overnight, killing two people and leaving another 13 injured.
On Sunday, Kyiv officials said Russia had launched the largest drone attack of the war so far by firing 273 explosives into Ukraine over the course of Saturday night into the following morning.
Israel has said it will allow a “basic quantity of food” into the besieged enclave of Gaza to avoid a “starvation crisis” following a near three-month blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas“.
Gaza, where local authorities say more than 53,000 people have died in Israel’s 19-month campaign, has been under a complete blockade on humanitarian aid since 2 March.
It comes as global food security experts warn of famine across the territory and after a UN-backed report from last Monday which warned one in five people in Gaza were facing starvation.
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The statement from the prime minister’s office said it would “allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip”.
“Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation ‘Gideon’s Chariots’ to defeat Hamas,” it added.
“Israel will act to deny Hamas’s ability to take control of the distribution of humanitarian assistance in order to ensure that the assistance does not reach the Hamas terrorists.”
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It comes after a British surgeon working in Gaza said in a video to Sky News the enclave is now “a slaughterhouse” amid Israeli bombardment.
Israel has just ramped up its offensive in Gaza – where it’s been conducting a military campaign in retaliation for 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023 – with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 130 people were killed overnight into Sunday.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed troops had begun “extensive ground operations throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip”.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 464 people had died in Israeli military strikes in the week to Sunday.
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In a statement on Sunday, IDF said its air force struck “over 670 Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip to disrupt enemy preparations and support ground operations” over the past week.
Israel has launched an escalation to increase pressure on Hamas, seize territory, displace Palestinians to the south and take greater control over the distribution of aid.
Pro-Western candidate Nicusor Dan has unexpectedly beaten hard-right populist George Simion in the Romanian presidential election.
Mr Simion, 38, and his rival – a centrist who’s mayor of Bucharest – faced off in the second round of the contest.
According to the official tally, Mr Dan was leading by nearly nine percentage points with more than 98% of the votes counted.
Pic: Reuters
Mr Dan and his supporters celebrated the exit polls. Pic: Reuters
After exit polls suggested he wasn’t going to win, Trump-supporting Mr Simion rejected the result and said estimates put him 400,000 votes ahead.
Speaking after voting ended, Mr Simion said his election was “clear” as he posted on Facebook: “I won!!! I am the new President of Romania and I am giving back the power to the Romanians!”
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Romania’s last election was annulled after its highest court ruled the leading candidate, nationalist Calin Georgescu, should be disqualified due to claims of electoral interference by Russia.
The result is surprising because in the first round, 38-year-old Mr Simion, founder of the right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), took 40.96% of the vote – almost 20 points ahead.
George Simion rejected the polls but official counting saw him slip behind. Pic: Reuters
Supporters of Mr Dan celebrated on the streets of the capital Bucharest. Pic: AP
An opinion poll on Friday had it much closer, but still suggested the two men were virtually tied.
Mr Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician, is running as an independent and has pledged to clamp down on corruption.
He is also staunchly pro-EU and NATO, and has said Romania’s support for Ukraine is vital for its own security.
When voting closed at 9pm local time, 11.6 million people – about 64% of eligible voters – had cast ballots. About 1.64 million Romanians living abroad also took part.
About 11.6 million people – 64% of eligible voters – cast ballots. Pic: AP
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The election is being closely watched across Europe amid a rise of support for President Donald Trump.
After polls closed, Mr Dan said “elections are not about politicians” but about communities and that in the latest vote “a community of Romanians has won, a community that wants a profound change in Romania”.
“When Romania goes through difficult times, let us remember the strength of this Romanian society,” he said.
“There is also a community that lost today’s elections. A community that is rightly outraged by the way politics has been conducted in Romania up to now.”
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