The National Times - Myanmar's junta chief arrives for Bangkok summit as quake toll surpasses 3,000

Min Aung Hlaing will join a BIMSTEC gathering -- the seven littoral nations of the Bay of Bengal -- where he will raise the response to Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake.

The junta chief arrived at Bangkok's plush Shangri-La hotel, the venue for Friday's summit, amid tight security, AFP journalists saw.

Many nations have sent aid and teams of rescue workers to Myanmar since the quake, but heavily damaged infrastructure and patchy communications -- as well as the country's rumbling civil war -- have hampered efforts.

Myanmar has been engulfed in a brutal multi-sided conflict since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing's military wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Following reports of sporadic clashes even after the recent earthquake, the junta on Wednesday joined its opponents in calling a temporary halt to hostilities to allow relief to be delivered.

AFP journalists saw hectic scenes on Wednesday in the city of Sagaing -- less than 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the epicentre -- as hundreds of desperate people lined up for the distribution of emergency supplies.

Roads leading to the city were packed with traffic on Thursday, many of the vehicles part of aid convoys organised by civilian volunteers and adorned with banners saying where they had been sent from across Myanmar.

- Situation 'devastating' -

Destruction in Sagaing is widespread, with 80 percent of buildings damaged, 50 percent severely Titon Mitra, UNDP resident representative for Myanmar told AFP.

"The situation is really devastating," he said.

Food markets are unusable while hospitals are overwhelmed by patients and structurally unsound, he said, with patients being treated outdoors in 40 C heat.

"We have seen children, pregnant women, injured people there. There's not enough medical supplies," he said.

"If you look at the overall impacted area, there's possibly three million plus that may have been affected."

Nearly a week after the quake, locals say they face a lack of help.

"We have a well for drinking water, but we have no fuel for the water pump," Aye Thikar told AFP.

"We also don't know how long we will be without electricity," she said.

The 63-year-old nun has been helping distribute relief funds to those left without basic amenities.

But many people are still in need of mosquito nets and blankets, forced to sleep outside by the tremors that either destroyed their homes or severely damaged them.

"People passing by on the road have generously donated water and food to us. We rely solely on their kindness," she said.

- Eyes on summit -

All the main leaders from the seven-member BIMSTEC grouping -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand -- are expected to attend the Bangkok summit.

Host country Thailand has proposed that the leaders issue a joint statement on the impact of the disaster when they meet on Friday -- a week from the day the quake struck.

Min Aung Hlaing's attendance represents a diplomatic win for Myanmar's isolated government, as the summit breaks with a regional policy of not inviting junta leaders to major events.

His arrival in the Thai capital came as a junta spokesperson said Thursday that 3,085 deaths from the quake had been confirmed, with 341 people still missing and 4,715 injured.

Bangkok, hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre of the quake, also suffered isolated damage.

The death toll in the city has risen to 22, with more than 70 still unaccounted for at the site of a building collapse.

Rescuers are still scouring the immense pile of debris, but the likelihood of finding more survivors is diminishing.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bangkok for the summit, as did Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus.

Bangladeshi media have widely speculated the pair will meet, but there was no confirmation.

burs-pdw/dhc

C.Blake--TNT