Guwahati, April 6 -- Tharaphi Than, Northern Illinois University

After a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28. 2025, the country's military and the myriad resistance groups fighting a yearslong civil war faced international calls for an immediate ceasefire. A pause in the fighting would enable vital aid to enter the major quake zones and allow rescuers to assist victims in a disaster that has already killed more than 3,000 people.

The first to heed the call was the opposition National Unity Government, which unilaterally announced a two-week pause on attacks by its armed wing, the People's Defense Force, on March 29. The Three Brotherhood Alliance - a coalition of three ethnic resistance groups: the Myanmar National Democ...