Myanmar’s military fired on a Chinese Red Cross convoy trying to deliver food and medicine to desperate survivors of the massive earthquake in Myanmar, highlighting the dangers aid groups face from the country’s ongoing civil war.

       The military said Wednesday that its soldiers had opened fire on vehicles carrying relief supplies in the war-torn northern Shan State after the convoy had failed to notify them of its presence in advance. Armed rebel groups also said the military has launched scores of airstrikes since Friday’s 7.7-magnitude temblor, which killed at least 2,700, killing dozens of civilians.

       Although the shadow government in exile, known as the National Unity Government, and an alliance of three rebel groups announced cease-fires in the wake of the earthquake, the military, which seized power in a coup four years ago, has indicated that it will not stop hostilities. The fierce civil war had already caused widespread suffering before the earthquake, which killed at least 2,700 and left millions of people with little food and water.

       Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of Myanmar’s junta, said in a statement on Tuesday night that military operations will continue as “necessary protective measures” despite the earthquake.

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       “There’s nothing necessary nor protective about attacking people trying to help people,” said Tom Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar. “Continuing to launch military offenses is just outrageous.”

       On Tuesday around 9.30 p.m., the military fired at a Chinese Red Cross convoy near Ummati village in northern Shan State, according to Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the spokesman for Myanmar’s military.

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