The shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday flattened buildings across Myanmar, killing nearly 3,000 people and making thousands more homeless. The military government said it would observe a ceasefire from Wednesday until April 22 to make quake relief efforts easier, after other armed groups fighting the country's bloody four-year civil war made similar pledges. Rights groups and several foreign governments had earlier condemned the junta for continuing to carry out air strikes even as the country grappled with the quake aftermath.

Myanmar’s ruling military declared a temporary ceasefire in the country’s civil war Wednesday to facilitate relief efforts following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 3,000 people. The surprise announcement by military leaders who also head the unelected government came late Wednesday on state television MRTV, which said the halt in fighting would run until April 22 to show compassion for people affected by Friday’s quake. The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule, and the military warned that those groups must refrain from attacking the state and regrouping, or else face “necessary” measures.

The junta said in a statement the ceasefire had “the aim of speeding up relief and reconstruction efforts, and maintaining peace and stability”. But it warned its opponents – a complex array of pro-democracy and ethnic minority armed groups – it would still respond to attacks, acts of sabotage or “gathering, organising, and expanding territory that would undermine peace”.