Myanmar junta asks for international aid after earthquake

AFP/Mizzima

Myanmar’s ruling junta made a rare request for international humanitarian aid and declared a state of emergency across six regions after a powerful earthquake hit the country on Friday.

AFP reporters saw junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at a hospital in Naypyidaw where wounded were being treated after the 7.7-magnitude quake hit central Myanmar.

“We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible,” junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP at the hospital.

Casualty numbers have yet to emerge but the fact that the isolated military government is appealing for help — which it rarely does after natural disasters — suggests they could be on a large scale.