UPDATE - Junta extends ceasefire with armed rebels in Myanmar to April 30

​​​​​​​CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEED; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Saadet Gokce and Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - Myanmar's Junta on the day a three-week ceasefire was set to end, announced Tuesday an extension with the armed rebels until April 30, Xinhua News reported.

In the aftermath of a March 28 earthquake that killed more than 3,700 victims, the military junta had declared a unilateral three-week ceasefire.

The Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services of Myanmar said the purpose of the extension is to help rescue and resettlement operations in earthquake-hit regions.

It said armed groups are urged to avoid disrupting or attacking communication routes, refrain from harming people, properties, security personnel and their camps, not to target military headquarters, not to recruit or mobilize forces and abstain from territorial expansion, during the ceasefire.

Beijing announced earlier that a team from China has been sent to northern Shan State's capital, Lashio, to monitor the ceasefire.

Northern Myanmar has seen intense clashes between ethnic armed rebels and the junta in recent months, displacing thousands of residents.

Myanmar has been under military rule since a coup in February 2021.​​​​​​​