Myanmar

Myanmar has been under military rule since February 2021, when its army ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.

Myanmar, where an ongoing civil war began in 2021, was already one of the most challenging places in the world for aid organisations to operate in.

The death toll from the earthquake that hit Myanmar on Friday has claimed the lives of at least 1,644 people and injured 2,376, according to the country’s ruling military junta.

Hundreds feared dead after a powerful 7.7 magnitude tremor struck the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar. Aftershocks could be felt as far as Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand.

Around 7,000 rescued workers are waiting to be moved across the border to Thailand, says Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

The military declared a state of emergency in 2021 when it arrested the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in an army takeover which reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.

Peace prospects look bleak as a civil war rages despite international pressure on the military four years after it seized power from an elected civilian government.