News

Hundreds of Muslim worshippers are feared to be among the more than 1, 600 people who died in a powerful earthquake which struck central Myanmar when they had gathered at mosques for prayers during Ramadan.

According to the shadow National Unity Government, more than 50 mosques across the country also sustained damage when the magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck on Friday.

Htet Min Oo was performing ritual ablutions before Ramadan prayers at a mosque next to his house in Mandalay.

His home collapsed along with part of the mosque, trapping half his body with the rubble of a wall that buried two of his aunts. Residents raced to pull them out, he said, but only one survived.

The 25-year-old told the Reuters news agency, that his two uncles and his grandmother were also trapped under piles of concrete. With no heavy equipment available, he tried desperately to clear the rubble with his hands but could not shift it.

“I don’t know if they are still alive under the debris. After so long, I don’t think there’s any hope”, he said on Friday.

“There’s too much rubble and no rescue teams have come for us”, he added, his voice shaking as he broke into tears.

A 39-year-old resident of the Mandalay region described harrowing scenes as he tried to save a man trapped under the debris of a collapsed mosque in Sule Kone village but had to flee because of strong aftershocks.

“I had to leave him behind … I went in a second time to try to save him”, he told Reuters, declining to be identified. “I retrieved four people with my own hands. But unfortunately, three were already dead, and one died in my arms”.

The resident said 10 people had been killed there, and they were among 23 who died at three mosques that were destroyed in the village. Government restrictions had prevented them from being upgraded, he said.

Muslims are a minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar and have been repressed and marginalised by successive governments, while ultranationalist groups have in recent years incited violence.

The Rohingya, a large Muslim minority, have been among the most persecuted groups by the Myanmar authorities, suffering mass deaths and expulsion.

Myanmar authorities have for decades also made it difficult for Muslims to obtain permission to repair or build mosques, according to a 2017 report by the US Department of State, which said historic mosques have deteriorated because routine maintenance was denied.

One man, Julian Kyle, appealed on social media for heavy equipment to lift concrete pillars after the quake destroyed another Mandalay mosque.

“Underneath the rubble, my family members and others were crushed and lost their lives”, he posted. “We desperately want to recover their bodies”.

A resident from the town of Taungnoo, about 370km (230 miles) away, said he was praying when one side of the Kandaw mosque caved in on two rows of men seated before him.

“I saw so many people carried out from the mosque, some of them died right before my eyes”, he said. “It was truly heartbreaking”.

Citing a local newspaper, Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency said that the collapse of mosques on Friday also increased fears of more buildings falling, especially older ones that are more than 150 years old and have not received the necessary permits for renewal, according to government regulations.

Buddhist buildings were also badly hit by the earthquake, with 670 monasteries and 290 pagodas damaged, according to the military government. It did not mention any mosques in its damage report.

So far, the quake has also destroyed other buildings, bridges and roads across swaths of Myanmar.

But many believe the true scale of the disaster has yet to emerge due to patchy communications in remote areas.

Harry Roberts, a Bangkok-based volunteer, said the situation in Myanmar was likely to be “very complex” and “really serious” considering the government’s rare appeal for international help.

“That request must trickle down to immigration and customs, so nongovernmental organisations like ourselves can get the immediate aid in there”, Roberts said.

Denmark’s foreign minister has chided United States President Donald Trump’s administration for its “tone” in criticising Denmark over its role in Greenland, saying his country is already investing more into Arctic security and remains open to further cooperation with the US.

Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen made the sharp remarks in a video posted to social media on Saturday, after US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to the strategic island.

“Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And of course we are open to criticism”, Rasmussen said, speaking in English.

“But let me be completely honest: we do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered. This is not how you speak to your close allies. And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies”.

On Friday, Vance, on a fleeting visit, accused Denmark of failing to keep Greenland protected and projected that the US would better protect the semi-autonomous Danish territory that Trump covets and has pressed to take over.

“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland”, Vance said on Friday. “You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change”.

The US has suggested that both Russia and China have strategic designs on Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also pushed back on Vance’s claim that Denmark is not doing enough for defence in the Arctic, calling her country “a good and strong ally”.

“For many years, we have stood by the Americans in very difficult situations”, she said, referring to Danish combat deployments alongside US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, where dozens of Danes were killed.

“The Vice President’s reference to Denmark is not accurate”, she added.

Vance was accompanied by his wife Usha, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and his wife, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz’s wife.

The vice president stressed that the US has “no option” but to take a significant position to ensure the security of the island as he encouraged a push in Greenland for independence from Denmark.

“I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States”, Vance said. “We could make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection. And I think they’d fare a lot better economically as well”.

Greenland has its say

The reaction by members of Greenland’s parliament and its residents to Trump’s push to annex the island has been a furious one.

Greenlandic legislators on Thursday agreed to form a new government, banding together to resist Trump’s overtures. Four of the five parties elected to Greenland’s parliament earlier this month have agreed to form a coalition that will have 23 of 31 seats in the legislature.

Incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a news conference on Friday that the territory needed unity at this time.

“It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences … because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside”, he said.

The Danish foreign minister, in his remarks, was at pains to note that his country has increased its own investment into Arctic defence.

In January, Denmark announced 14.6 billion Danish kroner ($2.1bn) in financial commitments for Arctic security covering three new naval vessels, long-range drones and satellites.

1951 US-Denmark defence agreement

In his video, Rasmussen also cited the 1951 defence agreement between Denmark and the US. Since 1945, the US military presence in Greenland has decreased from thousands of soldiers over 17 bases and installations on the island, he said, to the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest with some 200 soldiers.

The 1951 agreement “offers ample opportunity for the United States to have a much stronger military presence in Greenland”, the foreign minister said. “If that is what you wish, then let us discuss it”.

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated on Saturday outside the US embassy in the Danish capital Copenhagen, with some lifting signs saying “back off, USA”, Danish broadcaster TV2 reported.

Trump argues that the US needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security and has not ruled out the use of force to secure it.

“We are not talking about peace for the United States. We are talking about world peace. We are talking about international security”, Trump claimed to reporters at the White House on Friday.