Myanmar Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 3,354, UN Chief Lauds Aid Response

The toll from the powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar has risen to 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 remaining missing, state media reports said on Saturday. As relief and rescue operations go on, United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher thanked humanitarian and community organizations for their front-line work in responding to disaster.

Fletcher, who stayed overnight in Mandalay, close to the epicenter of the quake, tweeted, “Humanitarian and community organizations led the response to the earthquake with determination, skill and courage. Many themselves were themselves left without a thing, and yet continued going out to assist survivors.”

Min Aung Hlaing Returns After Foreign Summit, Meets Indian PM Modi

Myanmar military junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has returned to Naypyitaw after a foreign trip for a rare visit abroad to a regional summit in Bangkok. At the event, he met bilaterally with the leaders of Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and India.

State media announced that Min Aung Hlaing reaffirmed his government’s commitment to having “free and fair” elections in December when he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi Calls for Permanent Ceasefire, Credible Elections

In response, Modi underscored the need for peace and democratic credibility.

Mr. Modi called on Myanmar’s military to make the post-quake ceasefire in the country’s civil war permanent and to hold “inclusive and credible” elections, according to an Indian foreign affairs spokesperson on Friday.

Most critics have, however, rejected the next set of elections as a facade aimed at assisting the military in maintaining its grip over the country through proxy candidates.

Civil War, Humanitarian Emergency, and Aid Blockades

Since the February 2021 military coup that overthrew Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar has descended into civil war, with more than 3 million displaced and more than one-third of the country’s population requiring humanitarian assistance, the U.N. says.

The UN Human Rights Office has also expressed fears that the junta is cutting off assistance to parts of the country that do not back its control. The agency is looking into 53 alleged military attacks, including 16 abuses after a ceasefire was announced on Wednesday.

The junta spokesperson has still to comment on these claims.