Earthquake recovery hampered by government bombing raids

Four days after a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, rescue crews are searching for survivors while dodging government airstrikes.

“Many people are still trapped in collapsed buildings,” said a resident of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. “We urgently need communication and emergency assistance.”

The quake hit shortly before 1 p.m. local time on March 28, with its epicenter near Mandalay and northwest of Sagaing. It devastated both government- and resistance-held areas. Buildings collapsed, religious structures crumbled, and critical infrastructure suffered severe damage. As of March 31, officials reported 2,065 dead, 3,900 injured, and 270 missing—though most Burmese citizens and international observers believe the State Administration Council (SAC), the junta government, has deliberately underreported the toll.

The disaster struck amid a brutal civil war that began in 2021 after a military coup. The fighting has devastated the economy, pushed much of the population into food insecurity, and displaced 3.5 million people. Nearly 20 million now require humanitarian assistance, and the UN estimates 2 million people in Rakhine state alone are at risk of famine.

Rescue efforts have been severely hampered by the military junta’s deliberate disruptions. Internet and cell service have been cut across much of the country, making it nearly impossible for families to check on loved ones or for rescuers to report accurate casualty data. Electricity, already limited to four hours a day in cities like Yangon, has now dropped to just two hours or less, further complicating relief operations.

To make matters worse, the junta launched airstrikes on resistance-held civilian areas just after the quake. Junta military jets attacked a village in Shan state at 2:54 p.m., with fighter jets firing rockets and machine guns. Seven members of the Thanu ethnic minority—including six women—were killed, and several villagers were injured. The attack damaged four homes and a school, and the village—despite being far from the active front line in Dong Khan Township—suffered significant destruction.

In Mandalay, locals report that a 10 p.m. curfew implemented by the junta forces rescue efforts to halt each night. Soldiers and police are also targeting able-bodied young people involved in search-and-rescue operations, attempting to conscript them into the military. Similar accounts are emerging from Shan state, where young people helping to clear rubble have been detained and forcibly recruited. “They use this quake to trap young people in the army,” one Shan villager explained.

The Shan State Army–South (SSA-S), an ethnic armed group currently in a ceasefire with the junta that sometimes acts as a proxy force, has set up checkpoints along roads to prevent youth from fleeing to Thailand. The ongoing civil war and near-total economic collapse have already driven between 3 million and 4 million young Burmese to seek refuge and work in Thailand, depriving both the junta’s army (the Tatmadaw) and ethnic armed groups of recruits.

This exodus explains why so many Burmese were among the casualties when the earthquake’s shockwaves reached Bangkok, 6,00 miles away. A high-rise building under construction collapsed, killing 18, injuring 33, and leaving 77 missing—most of them Burmese migrant workers who had fled the conflict in their homeland.

Sai Loi Kham, a 40-year-old Shan social activist from Pyin Oo Lwin Township in Mandalay Division, reported that Mandalay—the most severely affected area—along with Sagaing and Naypyidaw, the capital of the State Administration Council, has suffered extensive damage to critical infrastructure, including roads, hospitals, and historic buildings.

He explained that “many people remain trapped under collapsed buildings, and a lot are in danger of dying. Many have already died, and the smell of decomposing bodies emerges from the rubble.” Local relief teams, lacking both sufficient personnel and proper equipment, are struggling to rescue those still trapped.

People search the rubble of a collapsed building in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Associated Press

Despite continuing to attack the civilian population, the junta made a rare public appeal for international assistance within hours of the earthquake. Spokesman Zaw Min Tun urged donors to send aid “as soon as possible.” But many remain skeptical. In past crises—including Cyclone Nargis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other natural disasters—the military regime has either rejected aid, restricted access for humanitarian workers, or misappropriated relief for its own benefit. There is growing concern that the junta will once again use aid as a weapon in the ongoing civil war, particularly by denying assistance to areas controlled by resistance forces—a long-standing tactic in its effort to maintain power.

Taiwan had prepared a 126-member rescue team to assist Myanmar after the earthquake. It included firefighters, medical personnel, structural engineers, and search-and-rescue dogs, along with 15 tons of specialized equipment. But the Taiwanese government deemed the mission too dangerous due to ongoing airstrikes by Myanmar’s military in the disaster’s aftermath.

But Chinese and Russian relief teams did arrive shortly after the earthquake. Two Chinese teams crossed the border to reach Mandalay, where local armed groups are providing security. All of these groups are currently in ceasefire agreements with the regime and often act as its proxies. Another Chinese team reached Naypyidaw under the protection of these junta proxy armies.

Meanwhile, international teams from Europe and America have been barred. Sai Loi Kham noted that the SAC claims relief teams have been unable to reach Mandalay and Sagaing due to damaged roads and airports. However, the arrival of Chinese and Russian teams in Naypyidaw suggests the junta is prioritizing aid in the capital while neglecting harder-hit regions.

He added that many of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had previously fled to Mandalay and Sagaing are originally from areas of northern Shan state that have since been affected by the quake. Now, with so many armed groups present in the area, frequent military checkpoints are making it difficult for them to move freely. These armed groups are discouraging them from leaving the region or even checking on the well-being of relatives just a few kilometers away.

In Shan state, Sai Loi Kham highlighted that two areas—Inlay Lake and Aung Pan—were particularly hard hit, with 90 people killed, more than 2,000 houses damaged (including homes sheltering IDPs), and significant marine life loss in Inlay Lake. “No international relief teams have reached Shan state so far,” he added, noting the SAC’s claim that the region is too dangerous to access.

The SAC’s failure to send relief teams to the hardest-hit areas is driven not only by internal politics but also by international dynamics. For example, Taiwan canceled its planned relief mission after the junta failed to officially accept Taipei’s offer of assistance. This decision was likely influenced by the regime’s preference to limit foreign presence to allies like Russia and China. Beijing prohibits its allies from accepting government-to-government aid from Taipei, which it considers a renegade province. This underscores the influence authoritarian states like Russia and China exert over the junta—and how the SAC seeks to limit Western involvement while still hoping to receive Western funding.

Human rights groups are urging international donors and UN agencies to avoid channeling aid through the military government. Instead, they stress the importance of working with local and community-based networks in resistance-held areas to ensure life-saving support reaches those most in need—without empowering the junta.

Sylvia, an NGO worker from central Burma, said that while the junta is largely misappropriating or blocking international aid, there’s a bit of irony in how some private assistance can still find its way into government-controlled areas like Mandalay. “It’s actually possible to get aid into Mandalay through local charities or church-based groups,” she said, noting that these smaller networks are more nimble and better able to navigate restrictions.

In contrast, resistance-held areas like Sagaing—under the control of the People’s Defence Forces—are almost entirely sealed off by the junta, making it extremely difficult to deliver aid. Large international organizations and UN agencies are generally required to channel aid through the SAC, Sylvia said, but most local groups avoid this route. “The Myanmar diaspora around the world is also supporting us—community to community, people to people—but not through the government.”