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MANDALAY: Myanmar declared a week of national mourning on Monday over the country’s devastating earthquake, as the death toll passed 2,000 and hopes faded of finding more survivors in the rubble of ruined buildings.
National flags will fly at half-mast until April 6 “in sympathy for the loss of life and damages” from Friday’s massive quake, the ruling junta said in a statement.
The junta also announced a minute’s silence on Tuesday, to begin at 12:51:02 p.m. (0621 GMT) — the precise time the 7.7-magnitude quake struck.
People should stop where they are to pay tribute to the victims, the junta said, while media should halt broadcasting and show mourning symbols, and prayers will be offered at temples and pagodas.
The announcement came as the tempo and urgency of rescue efforts wound down in Mandalay, one of the worst-affected cities and the country’s second-largest, with more than 1.7 million inhabitants.
“The situation is so dire that it’s hard to express what is happening,” said Aung Myint Hussein, chief administrator of Mandalay’s Sajja North mosque.
People prepared to camp out in the streets across Mandalay for a fourth successive night, either unable to return to ruined homes or nervous about the repeated aftershocks that rattled the city over the weekend.
Some have tents but many, including young children, have been bedding down on blankets in the middle of roads, trying to keep as far from buildings as possible for fear of falling masonry.
The junta said Monday that 2,056 have now been confirmed, with more than 3,900 people injured and 270 still missing, but the toll is expected to rise significantly.
Three Chinese nationals are among the dead, China’s state media said, along with two French people, according to the foreign ministry in Paris.
At least 19 deaths have been confirmed hundreds of kilometers away in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, where the force of the quake caused a 30-story tower block under construction to collapse.
Mandalay’s 1,000-bed general hospital has been evacuated, with hundreds of patients being treated outside.
Patients lay on gurneys in the hospital car park, many with only a thin tarpaulin rigged up to shield them from the fierce tropical sun.
Relatives did their best to comfort them, holding hands or waving bamboo fans over them.
“We’re trying to do what we can here. We are trying our best,” said one medic, who asked to remain anonymous.
The sticky heat has exhausted rescue workers and accelerated body decomposition, which could complicate identification.
But traffic began returning to the streets of Mandalay on Monday, and restaurants and street vendors resumed work.
Hundreds of Muslims gathered outside a destroyed mosque in the city for the first prayer of Eid Al-Fitr, the holiday that follows the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
The challenges facing the Southeast Asian country of more than 50 million people were immense even before the earthquake.
Myanmar has been ravaged by four years of civil war sparked by a military coup in 2021, with its economy shattered and health care and infrastructure badly damaged.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the quake a top-level emergency as it urgently sought $8 million to save lives, while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched an appeal for more than $100 million.
International aid and rescue teams have been arriving after junta chief Min Aung Hlaing made an exceptionally rare appeal for foreign assistance.
In the past, isolated Myanmar’s ruling generals have shunned foreign assistance, even after major natural disasters.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun thanked key allies China and Russia for their help, as well as India, and said the authorities were doing their best.
“We are trying and giving treatment to injured people and searching for missing ones,” he told journalists.
But reports have emerged of the military carrying out air strikes on armed groups opposed to its rule, even as Myanmar grapples with the quake’s aftermath.
One ethnic minority armed group told AFP on Sunday that seven of its fighters were killed in an aerial attack soon after the quake, and there were reports of more air strikes on Monday.
Myanmar’s raging civil war, pitting the military against a complex array of anti-coup fighters and ethnic minority armed groups, has displaced around 3.5 million people.
In Bangkok, diggers continued to clear the vast pile of rubble at the site of the collapsed building.
Officials say they have not given up hope of finding more survivors in the wreckage, where 12 deaths have been confirmed and at least 75 people are still unaccounted for.

DHAKA: Tens of thousands of Bangladeshis joined a festive and colorful Eid Al-Fitr procession in Dhaka on Monday, as city officials aim to bring back the centuries-old tradition marking the end of Ramadan.

The event, which began in the capital’s Agargaon area and culminated at the National Parliament Building in the city center, featured a marching band, larger-than-life figurines and a cavalry parade.

Monday’s festivities were reminiscent of Dhaka’s Eid celebrations in the 18th century, when its governors, known as Naib Nazim, would lead vibrant parades snaking through the streets of the capital.

“The Eid parade in Dhaka is considered a tradition of this city. This tradition began in the late 18th century and continued until the first quarter of the 19th century,” Muntasir Mamun, a former history professor at Dhaka University, told Arab News.

“The Naib Nazim used to ride on an elephant and lead the colorful parade, followed by their soldiers and associates … This Eid parade tradition was at its peak during the early 19th century … The people used to observe this parade standing on both sides of the streets and rooftops.”

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As the procession became a tradition during a transition period following the decline of the Mughal Empire, the grand events were known to have taken elements from that era, including in costumes and displays.

The annual parades eventually tapered off during British rule but took place at least once while Bangladesh was under Pakistan, Mamun said.

This year’s procession marks the revival of the centuries-old tradition, as the government in Dhaka is planning to turn it into an annual event.

“We want Dhaka to have its own story. The Muslims of Dhaka and the culture of Dhaka will be the essence of this story,” Mohammed Azaz, an administrator at the Dhaka North City Corporation, told Arab News.

“Here, the Muslims have a 400-year-old history and culture. With this Eid parade, we want to revive the Bengal Muslims’ history, culture and tradition … That’s why we organized the parade in accordance with the style of the Mughals.”

As the beating of the drums and sounds of trumpets filled the busy streets of Dhaka on Monday morning to mark Eid Al-Fitr, city residents were beaming with pride and excitement.

“I just came here after offering the Eid prayer … It’s a unique experience for me,” local resident Nikita Begum told Arab News after the event.

“It’s very energetic and refreshing to experience … such a colorful Eid parade … Different types of music are being played here, and it creates an amusing environment for people of all ages. I liked it a lot.”