 "This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies on March 29, 2025, shows collapsed and destroyed shacks and buildings in Mandalay, Myanmar, after the March 27, 2025, earthquake. The death toll from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand passed 1,600 on March 29, 2025, as rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings in a desperate search for survivors. The quake struck northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar early in the afternoon of March 27, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock. (Photo by Handout / Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT \"AFP PHOTO / SATELLITE IMAGE ©2025 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES\" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - THE WATERMARK MAY NOT BE REMOVED/CROPPED")
After a huge earthquake struck the war-torn nation on Sunday, anti-coup fighters in Myanmar announced a two-week temporary truce, which the military started on Sunday to aid rescue efforts and other relief efforts.
The People’s Defence Force (PDF) would “implement a two-week pause in offensive military operations, except for defensive actions, in earthquake-affected areas starting March 30, 2025,” according to a statement from the shadow “National Unity Government.”
According to a statement posted on social media, the government in exile plans to “collaborate with the UN and NGOs to ensure security, transportation, and the establishment of temporary rescue and medical camps” in regions under its control.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar on Friday, and also affected Thailand. At least 1,644 people were killed in Myanmar, the junta said, while around 10 others were killed in Bangkok.
Myanmar’s military has been fighting a civil war on multiple fronts since it ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in February 2021.
It is opposed by both the PDFs and ethnic armed organisations, many of which have been fighting for decades. The “National Unity Government” consists mostly of lawmakers ousted in the coup who are working to topple the junta.