Bangkok, Apr 2 (EFE).- Myanmar’s junta, which has held power in the country since a coup in 2021 and is facing an armed conflict with ethnic and pro-democracy guerrillas, said Wednesday that the military fired warning shots at a Chinese Red Cross aid convoy.
Volunteers clear debris of structures damaged by a recent earthquake, in Mandalay, Myanmar, 02 April 2025. EFE-EPA/NYEIN CHAN NAING
Military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said Wednesday in a statement reported by the Telegram channel of the state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), that soldiers “fired three shots into the air” after asking a convoy of about nine Chinese Red Cross vehicles to stop.
(FILE) Soldiers patrol the streets during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, 06 March 2021. EFE-EPA/LYNN BO BO
The incident took place near Ohn Mati village in Naung Cho township.
The area is known to be a hotbed of fighting between the Myanmar military and the TNLA, a Burmese ethnic guerrilla group.
The military official explained that they were not sure where the convoy was coming from and that they thought it was from Myanmar, although when they later went to search it, they were told it was from the Chinese Red Cross.
“We would like to urge international relief organizations to provide advance notice and security arrangements,” he said.
The spokesperson added that the shots were fired in the air as a warning and that no one was injured.
The TNLA had already reported the incident, which occurred as the convoy was traveling from an area of Shan state (bordering China) to Mandalay, one of the cities worst hit by a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday.
On Tuesday, the junta rejected a ceasefire proposal from a powerful guerrilla alliance, of which the TNLA is a member, to facilitate humanitarian relief efforts.
Nearly 2,900 people were killed and more than 4,600 injured in the quake, according to figures updated by the military on Wednesday.
The head of the junta, Min Aung Hlaing, declared that the army will continue its “necessary defensive operations.”
“We know that some ethnic armed groups are not currently fighting, but are organizing and training for attacks,” Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said in the capital Naypyitaw, in a speech reported Wednesday by state media.
Myanmar has been mired in a civil war with multiple armed opposition groups since the 2021 coup, when the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
China on Wednesday called on all parties in Myanmar to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel in the country.
“It’s necessary to keep transportation routes for relief efforts open and unobstructed” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“At present, relief workers and supplies are safe,” he added.
Guo said that aid sent by the Chinese Red Cross was already in Burmese territory and moving toward the hardest-hit areas in Mandalay.
China is one of Myanmar’s few partners after the coup, and has strengthened its relations with the junta in recent years as they have lost ground in some areas of the country to pro-democracy guerrillas. EFE
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