Myanmar’s ruling military has declared a temporary ceasefire in the country’s civil war, which has been ongoing since 2021.
The announcement is designed to ease recovery efforts following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck on Friday and has killed more than 3000 people.
The halt in fighting between the unelected military government and rebel fighters is expected to run for the next three weeks.
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The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Even before the earthquake, over 3 million people had been displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million were in need, according to the United Nations.
In the last few days, bullets and bombs have continued to be traded.
The army admitted it had opened fire on a convoy of nine Chinese aid vehicles bringing supplies into the region.
No one from the Chinese Red Cross was injured. The Chinese army said they hadn’t been notified of the vehicles and sent warning shots after they failed to stop.
Prior to the ceasefire being announced, China had urged both sides to stop fighting and focus on the earthquake recovery.
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