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Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Myanmar junta extends ceasefire again following quake
The late March earthquake has left tens of thousands of people homeless in Myanmar. (AP pic) YANGON : Myanmar's junta has extended a post-earthquake truce, after the expiry of a previous humanitarian ceasefire it was accused of flouting with a continued campaign of air strikes. The junta initially declared a truce in the many-sided civil war after a huge quake in late March killed nearly 3,800 people and left tens of thousands homeless. The truce has been extended before, although conflict monitors say fighting has continued, including regular air strikes. A statement from the junta information team yesterday said there would be an extension of the armistice – which expired May 31 – until June 30. This would 'facilitate rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in earthquake-affected areas', it said in the statement. It added that the state was 'intensively engaging in reconstruction of damaged government offices and departments, public residences and transport facilities'. The ceasefire would also allow the country to hold 'a free and fair multi-party democracy general election', according to the statement. The country's junta chief said earlier this year that a long-promised election will be held by January, the first in the war-torn nation since the military staged a coup in 2021. In the statement, the military also warned it would still strike back against any offensives by the array of ethnic armed groups and anti-coup fighters. The announcement comes after Malaysian foreign minister Mohamad Hasan used a regional meeting last week to call for the extension and expansion of a ceasefire 'beyond the currently affected zones'. Malaysia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The bloc has led so far fruitless diplomatic efforts to end Myanmar's conflict since the junta deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
Free Malaysia Today
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Hundreds flee across Thai border after attack on Myanmar army
Myanmar has been mired in civil conflict since a military coup in 2021. (The Arakan Army/AP pic) BANGKOK : More than 300 Myanmar people fled into Thailand to seek refuge following an assault on the military by ethnic armed groups, Thailand said today, days after the junta extended a post-earthquake ceasefire. Myanmar has been mired in civil conflict since a military coup in 2021, with the junta battling a coalition of ethnic armed organisations and pro-democracy resistance forces. Yesterday's attack by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and its allied Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO) targeted a military base in Kayin state, about 2.5km from the Thai border, according to the Thai military. 'The attack involved a close-range encirclement of the base and the use of armed drones to continuously drop explosives throughout the day,' a statement said. By today, 327 Myanmar nationals had crossed into Thailand and were sheltering in two temporary sites, including a temple, with Thai military and police providing security and humanitarian aid, officials said. Thai forces have ramped up patrols along the border in Tak province to prevent what officials described as a potential 'breach of sovereignty by foreign armed forces'. Myanmar's military government and various armed groups opposed to it announced a ceasefire after the March 28 quake to help relief and recovery efforts. The truce has been repeatedly broken by air strikes by the junta and attacks by armed groups. The magnitude-7.7 quake near the central city of Mandalay killed nearly 3,800 and left tens of thousands homeless.
