Myanmar’s military junta fired at a convoy that was carrying earthquake relief aid to the quake-hit areas in the civil-war-ravaged country on Tuesday.
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an armed rebel group, told BBC that military troops shot at a convoy of nine vehicles using heavy machine guns as it was passing through the Naung Cho township in the northern Shan state, en route to Mandalay.
The TNLA said the convoy had informed the junta of its route and aid delivery plans.
The military told the British media that it was not notified that the convoy would be passing through and that it opened fire because it did not stop.
The junta claimed no one was injured in the incident.
An investigation into the incident is currently underway.
Local news portal Myanmar Now said the junta confirmed it opened fire on a Chinese Red Cross aid convoy.
The incident occurred at around 9:30pm as the convoy, consisting of nine vehicles, was traveling in northern Shan State’s Nawnghkio Township, junta spokesperson Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun was quoted as saying by Myanmar Now in a statement.
The firing occurred near Ohn Ma Thee, a village located around 10 miles southwest of the town of Nawnghkio.
TNLA
The area is currently under the control of the ethnic armed group Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
Myanmar’s military chief has rejected a ceasefire proposal by rebel groups that was meant to facilitate the rescue operation and delivery of aid relief to the quake-hit areas.
“Some ethnic armed groups may not be actively engaging in battles right now, but they are gathering and training in preparation for attacks,” junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying by BBC.
According to reports, the death toll in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked Myanmar on Friday has now touched 2,886.
More than 300 people are still missing.
Rescue continues
Rescue and relief operations are still going on.
As the death toll continues to rise in Myanmar after last Friday’s earthquake tragedy, UN humanitarians have been rushing to support severely deprived and traumatised victims, warning that the window for lifesaving response is closing.
During a press briefing with journalists in Yangon on Tuesday, Julia Rees, the Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Myanmar, described witnessing a rapidly increasing number of urgent needs following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake.
“Entire communities have been flattened,” she said, with children and families sleeping out in the open with no homes to return to.
“I met children who were in shock after witnessing their homes collapsed or the death of a family member… some have been separated from their parents and others are unaccounted for,” she explained.
