According to a press briefing by the National Unity Government (NUG) yesterday, 105 civilians were killed in 72 airstrikes conducted by the military council following the Sagaing earthquake. After the powerful earthquake that struck on March 28, the terrorist military continued to carry out airstrikes and artillery attacks in 12 states and regions until April 11. The military council’s airstrikes resulted in 102 people being injured, while 74 civilian homes and 3 schools were destroyed. The attacks targeted areas including Sagaing, Magway, Bago, Mandalay, Karenni, Shan, Chin, Ayeyarwady, Kachin, Karen, Mon, and Rakhine regions.
Additionally, 30 artillery attacks resulted in 6 civilian deaths and 30 injuries, while destroying 21 homes and 2 religious buildings. The NUG government had announced on March 29 that it would temporarily suspend all offensive operations except defensive actions starting March 30 to enable effective delivery of humanitarian aid. Although the terrorist military announced a ceasefire on April 2, in reality, they continued to target civilians through airstrikes, artillery attacks, military columns entering villages, burning and looting civilian property across the country, including in earthquake-affected areas. Dr. Win Myat Aye of the NUG warned that international aid needs to be carefully monitored to ensure it reaches civilians in genuine need, rather than potentially supporting the military’s continued attacks on civilians including airstrikes.
During the previous NLD government administration, extensive natural disaster preparedness measures were implemented, including national-level earthquake preparedness and response plans, and Myanmar disaster risk reduction plans developed since 2017 and 2019. The NUG has established an initial emergency fund of one million US dollars equivalent for earthquake relief and continues to monitor and document damages while coordinating emergency assistance delivery to affected areas regardless of territorial control. They emphasized that aid must reach those most in need without discrimination between NUG-controlled and military-controlled areas. The military council’s actions have effectively nullified years of disaster preparedness work, leading to increased loss of life during the current crisis.
