UAE rescuers receive official welcome home after Myanmar mission
The UAE Search and Rescue Team received an official welcome home on Wednesday in recognition of their efforts to find survivors of last month's devastating earthquake in Myanmar. They were greeted by Brig Salem Al Dhaheri, director general of Abu Dhabi Civil Defence Authority, who praised the work of the team, led by Col Muzaffar Al Ameri, commander of the UAE Search and Rescue Team. Brig Al Dhaheri highlighted the team's professionalism and commitment to humanitarian values, state news agency Wam reported. The Emirati rescuers were also commended by Yangon region chief minister U Soe Thein at an official farewell ceremony at Yangon International Airport earlier on Wednesday. He expressed his gratitude to the UAE for its humanitarian support. The UAE team conducted search and rescue operations at six sites, in co-operation with Myanmar authorities and international teams, after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28. The shallow earthquake flattened buildings across the South-East Asian country, prompting the international community to come to its aid. On Wednesday, the death toll rose to 3,649. Myanmar's military leaders announced a temporary ceasefire to make relief operations easier. The military government said it would observe a ceasefire until April 22 after other armed groups fighting the country's four-year civil war made similar pledges. The military said the ceasefire had 'the aim of speeding up relief and reconstruction efforts, and maintaining peace and stability'. Rights groups and several foreign governments had earlier condemned the leaders for continuing to carry out air strikes as the country dealt with the quake aftermath. There are also fears that destroyed buildings will collapse further and complicate efforts to recover bodies.
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