How help become a weapon in myanmar’s war zone

Currently, after the earthquake, there is a 72-hour “gold window” when those caught under debris are likely to survive.

But at 72 o’clock after the trembling of Magnitud 7.7 struck Myanmar on Friday, rescue and auxiliary workers seeking access to some of the worst affected areas were blocked by military authorities, multiple help and human rights groups told the BBC.

This was despite the rare legal basis for international humanitarian aid from Junta Min Aung Hlaing chief.

“I would like to invite every country, every organization or one of Myanmar to come and help,” he said in a speech shortly after the disaster, claiming that he “has opened all ways to foreign help.”

On earth, things were moving less freely.

“I spoke with a few people now, who were part of the rescue efforts both in the sagling and in Mandalay, and they said that (the military) was imposing a police hour … The roads were blocked, the checkpoints were really long and there was a huge inspection of goods and services that were inhabited,” John Quinli, director of the international group.

“It could just be much easier to allow these people,” he added. “Obviously, the Myanmar Junta said it was for safety reasons, but I don’t believe it is completely legal.”

Meanwhile, the gold window closed.

During writing, over 2886 people in Myanmar confirmed the dead as a result of the earthquake.

On Tuesday evening, an attack against convoy for help further exacerbated fears.

At 21:21, a convoy of nine China’s Red Cross vehicles carrying an earthquake reserves was attacked by the military, according to the TNLA National Liberation Army, a resistance group in Shan.

The convoy was traveling to Mandalay when he was fired by machine gun soldiers, forcing him to look back, TNLA said in a telegram post late Tuesday.

Later, a junta spokesman confirmed that the soldiers fired at vehicles, stating that they had not been notified that the convoy would pass through and fire warning shots after failing to stop.

But this is not the first time the junta has attacked workers on the aid, said G -n -Quinli.

“They choose and choose when help can come in, and if they can’t watch it and they can’t use it as they want, they limit it,” he said. “They definitely, on top of that, are actively aimed at humanitarian workers.”

The junta, which began to wage a civil war with resistance for resistance in Myanmar after seizing control over the country in 2021, has a history of assistance for weapons and humanitarian aid: targeting areas under it and restricting it in areas that are not.

BBC evaluated the balance of power In more than 14,000 rural groups since mid -November last year, it found that the military had only full control of 21% of Myanmar territory, nearly four years since the start of the conflict.

In previous natural disasters, such as the Cyclone Mocha in 2023, and Typhoon Yagi in 2024, which left hundreds of dead, the military prevented efforts to help in the resistance areas, refusing to release supplies from the customs.

“This is an alarming trend that happens in times of crisis, such as the earthquake,” said G -n -Quinli. “The junta blocks any help for what they see as groups that are brought to the broader resistance.”

James Rodehaver, head of Myanmar’s team at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, further suggested that the junta deprives Myanmar’s population for help as a form of punishment.

“They do this because the local population generally does not support them, so by depriving them of humanitarian aid, they both punish them, but also cut off their ability to support themselves and be durable,” he told the BBC.

There are already signs that the junta can repeat this sagging tactic.

Although the central Myanmar, which includes the cities of sagling and Mandalay, is managed nominally by the junta – which means that the aid can only be delivered to the area with their cooperation – large parts of the wider sagas and the Mandalay regions are considered resistance.

The likelihood of the junta tactically depriving these areas of help prompted protest by hundreds of human rights and civil society organizations, which called on the international community to ensure that efforts to help reach the place where they are most necessary and do not target through the military government.

One such statement, signed by 265 civil society organizations and published on Sunday, notes that most of the worst affected areas are under the effective control and administration of pro-depocratic resistance groups.

“Myanmar’s story provides great warnings about the dangers of aid through military junta,” it said.

In the saga, the impact of the lack of help can now be seen in anxious ways, according to the agencies for assistance.

They talk about a shortage of food, water and fuel, while the trucks carrying help are stuck at military checkpoints around the city. Hundreds of residents, suddenly homeless, sleep out on the street. The rescue volunteers who were forced to dig through the ruins with their bare hands have exhausted body bags for those who could not save.

Other community members who want to respond to the earthquake are forced to obtain permission from Junta’s authorities by sending lists of volunteers and items to be donated, local media reported.

This tactics – for bombers with long bureaucratic control lists and processes – is regularly deployed by the junta to restrict the activities of international organizations to help in Myanmar, humanitarian sources told the BBC.

According to the Registration Act imposed in 2023, such organizations must achieve a certificate of registration and often sign a memorandum of understanding with the respective government ministries in order to work legally within the country.

A source that speaks to the BBC, provided for anonymity, often requires groups for helping to remove certain activities, areas or cities from their proposals, with no space for negotiation. The areas where the junta has no supervision or control over work on help are usually those that are banned, they added.

However, help agencies have found ways to navigate the junta restriction: many humanitarian aid in Myanmar happens underground, through local groups that can bypass the checkpoints and allocate help without attracting the attention of the authorities.

Many financial transactions in humanitarian aid also happen outside Myanmar’s banking system so that participants can avoid control and potential investigation from the country’s central bank, a source told the BBC. In some cases, humanitarian organizations open bank accounts in Thailand so that they can privately receive funds for help and then carry the money across the border in Myanmar in cash.

Such hidden methods take time and can lead to potentially fatal delays of days or weeks.

Some help workers hope that, given the scale of the earthquake on Friday and the International Aid for MIN Aung Hlaing, it may be easier to overcome barriers and provide help more efficiently.

“In the past, we are facing some challenges,” says Louise Gorton, an emergency specialist at the UNICEF regional office in East Asia and the Pacific.

“The scale of this emergency situation, however, is significantly higher … I think there will be pressure on the regime to guarantee unlimited and unobstructed humanitarian access – and we will continue to repeat the same needs and find ways, sometimes low key ways to provide help.”

Kara Bag, the Catholic Services (CRS) team’s side manager in Myanmar, said that although it is too early to say whether the junta will really “open all ways to foreign assistance,” her team is ready to navigate the complex humanitarian situation to provide help.

“It is certainly a worry that they (the military) can direct the help of specific places, not be based on need,” says Gia Brag, who is based in Yangon.

“But since the CRS humanitarian actors work under a humanitarian term and will be very focused on receiving help for the places they need to go – in the most affected areas, no matter who controls them.”

Early indications suggest that despite MIN Aung Hlaing’s request to the international community, Junta leader is unlikely to prioritize the unlimited flow of humanitarian aid.

Shortly after the earthquake, military planes launched a series of air strikes in the affected areas, killing more than 50 civilians, according to the National Advisory Board of Unity (NUCC).

Then, on Tuesday, Min Aung Hlaing rejected the fire -termination proposals, which were exposed by resistance groups in an attempt to facilitate assistance. Military operations will continue as the “necessary protective measures,” he said.

A day later, the junta changed its mind by agreeing to the 20-day cessation of fire to help help the effort. But it remains to be seen whether the pause in the hostilities behaves – the military emphasizes that it will “answer” accordingly if the rebels start attacks.

For many spectators, this seeming contradiction – to ask for help with one hand while conducting military strikes with the other – ring with the history of Min Aun Hling.

John Quinley of Fortify Rights suggested that the recent complaint for foreign aid is more likely to appeal for international recognition.

Speaking before the declaration of military fire, he noted that the head of the junta had “lied repeatedly to end the fire and the gross violations for which he commanded.”

Against this background, adding to Quinli, it is extremely important to ensure that the relief of the earthquake reaches the place where it is most necessary.

“I don’t hope when it comes to what Min Ang Choben says with some hint of the truth,” he said.

“I think that as a human rights group we should observe: OK, (Min Aung Hlaing) allows help – but does that actually reach people in need? Or does he arm the help? Does he block the help of needy to communities in need?”