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More than 2,700 people were killed in a devastating earthquake that hit Myanmar on March 28
The day after an earthquake, there is a 72 -hour “golden window” when those trapped under the rubble are most likely to survive.
But during the 72 hours after a magnitude of 7.7, Myanmar hit Myanmar, rescue and rescue workers seeking access to some of the most affected areas were blocked by the military authorities, military authorities and human rights told the BBC.
This despite a rare plea for the international humanitarian aid of the chief of the Junta, Min Aung Hlaing.
“I would like to invite any country, any organization or anyone in Myanmar to come and help,” he said in a speech shortly after the disaster, saying that he had “opened all the ways of foreign aid”.
On the ground, things were moving less freely.
“I spoke to a few people now who were part of the rescue efforts both in Sagaing and Mandalay, and they said that (the soldiers) imposed a curfew … The roads were blocked, the control points were really long, and there was a huge verification of goods and services, a lot of questions told the BBC.
“It could have been much easier to allow these people,” he added. “Obviously, the Junta of Myanmar said it was for security reasons, but I don’t think it’s completely legitimate.”
Meanwhile, the golden window has closed.
At the time of writing this document, more than 2,886 people in Myanmar were confirmed dead following the earthquake.
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The earthquake of magnitude 7.7 was the strongest that Myanmar has seen for over a century
On Tuesday evening, an attack on a help convoy still exacerbated concerns.
At 9:21 p.m., a convoy of nine vehicles of the Chinese Red Cross with rescue supplies from the earthquake was attacked by the army, according to the national liberation army of Ta’ang (TNLA), a resistance group in the state of Shan.
The convoy was heading for Mandalay when he was dismissed by soldiers with machine guns, forcing him to go back, TNLA said in a telegram post on Tuesday.
A junta spokesman later confirmed that the soldiers had shot vehicles, saying that they had not been informed that the convoy would pass and have fired after he failed to stop.
But this is not the first time that the junta has attacked the humanitarian workers, said Mr. Quinley.
“They choose and choose when help can enter, and if they cannot monitor it and they cannot use it as they wish, they restrict it,” he said. “They certainly also target, actively humanitarian workers.”
The junta, who began to fight against a civil war with forces of resistance to Myanmar after having taken control of the country in 2021, has history of armament and humanitarian aid: to train it towards areas which are under its control and restrict it in areas which are not.
The BBC evaluated energy balance in more than 14,000 village groups in mid-November last year, and found that the army only controlled 21% of the territory of Myanmar, almost four years after the start of the conflict.
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The military regime of Myanmar has fought a civil war against a patchwork of local resistance forces since its takeover in 2021
In previous natural disasters, such as the Mocha cyclone in 2023 and the Yagi typhoon in 2024, which left hundreds of deaths, the military obstructed rescue efforts in the resistance areas by refusing to release the supplies of customs, authorize travel for workers or restrictions on the relaxation of life.
“It is a disturbing trend that occurs in times of crisis, like the earthquake,” said Mr. Quinley. “The junta blocks all help that they consider groups that are aligned with broader resistance.”
James Rodehaver, head of the Myanmar team at the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, also suggested that the Junta deprives the population of help of Myanmar as a form of punishment.
“They do it because the local population, on the whole, does not support them, so by depriving them of humanitarian aid, they punish them both, but also their ability to support and be resilient,” he told the BBC.
There are already signs that the junta can repeat this tactic in sagaing.
Although the center of Myanmar, which includes the cities of Sagaing and Mandalay, is nominally managed by the junta – aid that cannot be delivered to the region with their cooperation – large parts of the wider regions of sagaing and mandalay are considered to be forests of resistance.
The probability that the junta does not tactically deprive these areas of aid prompted hundreds of human rights and civil society organizations, which have urged the international community to ensure that help efforts arrive where they are most necessary and are not channeled by the military government.
Such a declaration, signed by 265 civil society organizations and published on Sunday, notes that most of the most affected areas are under effective control and the administration of resistance groups.
“The history of Myanmar provides striking warnings on the dangers of aid pipe through the military junta,” he said.
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A large part of the effort to rescue the earthquakes relied on volunteers, who had to get people out of the rubble in hand
In Sagaing, the impact of help deficits can already be seen disturbing, according to the emergency agencies.
They speak of shortages of food, water and fuel, while trucks carrying aid are blocked at military control points around the city. Hundreds of residents, suddenly homeless, sleep outside in the street. The rescue volunteers who were forced to dig through the rubble with bare hands lacked body bags for those they could not save.
Other members of the community seeking to respond to the earthquake are forced to obtain authorities of the junta by subjecting lists of volunteers and articles to be given, local media reported.
This tactic – bombing stakeholders with long bureaucratic control lists and processes – is systematically deployed by the junta to restrict the activities of international aid organizations in Myanmar, humanitarian sources at the BBC told BBC.
According to a registration law imposed in 2023, these organizations must obtain a registration certificate and often sign a memorandum of understanding with relevant government ministries, to operate legally within the country.
A source, which spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said that aid groups are often required to withdraw certain activities, areas or cantons from their proposals, without place for negotiation. The areas where the junta has no surveillance or control over assistance work are generally those prohibited, they added.
However, help agencies have found ways to navigate the junta restriction: a lot of humanitarian aid in Myanmar occurs underground, via local groups that can bypass control points and distribute aid without attracting the attention of the authorities.
Many financial transactions in humanitarian aid also occur outside the Myanmar banking system, so that the actors can avoid a meticulous examination and a potential survey of the country’s central bank, a source told the BBC. In some cases, humanitarian organizations open bank accounts in Thailand so that they can receive private aid funds, then carry money over the border to Myanmar in cash.
These secret methods take time, however, and could cause potentially fatal delays of days or weeks.
BBC Burma
Some rescue workers hope that, given the magnitude of Friday earthquake and the international attraction of help from Min Aung Hlaing, it may be easier to overcome obstacles and provide help more effectively.
“In the past, we have been confronted with certain challenges,” said Louise Gorton, emergency specialist based at the Eastern Asia and Pacific Regional Office.
“The extent of this emergency, however, is much higher … I think there will be pressure on the regime to ensure humanitarian access without hindrance and without hindrance – and we will continue to repeat the same needs and to find means, sometimes discreet, to provide help.”
Cara Bragg, director of the country of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) team in Myanmar, said that even if he was too early to say if the junta “will really open all the ways of foreign aid”, her team is ready to sail in the complex humanitarian situation to provide help.
“It is certainly a concern that they (soldiers) can direct aid in specific places, and not based on needs,” said Bragg, who is based in Yangon.
“But as a humanitarian actors, CRS works under a humanitarian mandate and will be very focused on help in places where he needs – in the hardest affected areas, no matter who controls them.”
The first indications suggest that, despite the advocacy of Min Aung Hlaing to the international community, the chief of the besieged junta is unlikely to prioritize the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid.
Shortly after the earthquake, the military jets launched a series of air strikes on the affected areas, killing more than 50 civilians, according to the National Consultative Council (NACC).
Then, Tuesday, Min Aung Hlaing rejected the ceasefire proposals that were presented by resistance groups in order to facilitate help. Military operations would continue as “necessary protective measures,” he said.
The junta changed her mind a day later, accepting a 20-day ceasefire to help relieve the efforts. But it remains to be seen if the break in hostilities will hold. The army stressed that it “would respond accordingly” if the rebels launched attacks.
For many spectators, this apparent contradiction – to ask for a single hand help while performing military strikes with the other – Carillon with the history of the duplicity of Min Aung Hlaing.
John Quinley, from Fortify Rights, noted that the head of the junta had “lied many times” – and suggested that the recent call for foreign aid is more likely a call for international recognition.
In this context, added Mr. Quinley, it is essential to guarantee that the relief of the earthquake arrives where it is most necessary.
“I think that as a human rights group, we must monitor: OK, (min Aung Hlaing) helps-but does that really reach people in need? Where is it armed? He said.
“I have no hope when it comes to taking what Min Aung Hlaing says with any touch of truth.”
