BANGKOK: The death toll from Myanmar’s catastrophic earthquake has surged to 3,354, with 4,850 people injured and 220 still unaccounted for, according to state media on Saturday. As the humanitarian crisis deepens, visiting U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher commended local aid workers and organizations for their resilience and leadership in the emergency response.
Military ruler Senior General Min Aung Hlaing returned to the capital, Naypyitaw, after attending a regional summit in Bangkok. There, he met with leaders from Thailand, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. During a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the junta leader reiterated his intention to hold “free and fair” elections in December, according to Myanmar’s state-run outlets.
Modi, however, urged the Myanmar junta to make the temporary ceasefire—announced in the aftermath of the March 28 quake—a permanent one. He also stressed the importance of ensuring the proposed elections are “inclusive and credible,” an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Observers and critics remain deeply skeptical of the junta’s election plans, viewing them as a façade to maintain military control via political proxies. Since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in 2021, the country has spiraled into conflict and economic collapse, worsened now by the recent natural disaster.
More than 3 million people have been displaced by the ongoing civil war, and over a third of the population requires humanitarian assistance, according to U.N. data.
Fletcher, who visited Mandalay—close to the earthquake’s epicenter—shared on social media that local groups have shown “courage, skill, and determination” despite suffering personal losses themselves.
Meanwhile, the U.N. human rights office reported that the military regime is obstructing aid deliveries to quake-affected regions that are not supportive of its rule. The office is currently investigating 53 alleged junta attacks, including 16 since the ceasefire announcement, many involving airstrikes against opposition-held areas.
