Junta Ceasefire Extension Not to Be Trusted Say EAOs
Karen and Mon State based ethnic armed organisation (EAOs) have warned that the junta is unlikely to respect its extension of its unilateral ceasefire until 30 April 2025.
Following the 28 March 7.7 magnitude earthquake that had its epicentre a few miles west of Mandalay City, the junta declared a unilateral ceasefire to run from 2 to 22 April. On the final day of that ceasefire, 22 April, the junta announced that the ceasefire would be extended to 30 April.
On 23 April 2025, the New Mon State Party – Anti Dictatorship (NMSP-AD) and the Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), issued a joint statement saying that the junta could not be trusted to follow it’s own ceasefire agreement extension as they had already frequently broken the initial ceasefire that ran from 2 to 22 April.
The KNDO Commander-in-Chief, Saw Shee Lay said that the junta might be using the cover of the ceasefire to reinforce its positions and that if it really wanted a ceasefire it would stop launching airstrikes.
He said: “In my opinion, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing is just trying to benefit himself under the guise of a temporary truce. He’s only trying to distract the resistance forces. If the junta truly wants a ceasefire, there’s no reason to keep dispatching aircraft for airstrikes.”
Nai Kaung Sakar, an NMSP-AD information officer said: “The junta has been bombing civilian areas every single day without a break since it declared the ceasefire, even in many places where there are no active battles. So, the junta’s claims about the ceasefire extension are completely unconvincing. From our point of view, it’s nothing more than a sugar-coated political statement.”
Since 15 April 2025 the junta has been repeatedly launching airstrikes and artillery attacks against villages in Kawkareik Township in Karen State.
