Rebels claim big drone attack on Myanmar capital

BANGKOK: Myanmar’s main pro-democracy resistance group said on Thursday its armed wing launched drone attacks on the airport and a military headquarters in the capital, Naypyitaw, but the country’s ruling military said it destroyed the drones as they attacked.

The opposition National Unity Government’s “Defence Ministry” said in a statement that special units of the People’s Defence Force used drones to attack the targets simultaneously. The group, known by the acronym NUG, calls itself the country’s legitimate government, while the People’s Defense Force is made up of many local resistance groups with a good deal of independence.

Although there was no immediate evidence of any damage caused by the attack, the military’s acknowledgement that it had taken place in one of the most heavily guarded locations in the country will be seen by many as the latest indication that it is losing the initiative to its determined opponents, a trend first evident late last year when it lost critical territory in the northeast and west. NUG said there were reports of casualties.

The country’s military said it shot down seven drones and there were no reports of casualties. BBC’s Burmese-language service and Khit Thit, an online news service sympathetic to the resistance, said the airport was shut down for a while after the attacks.

It wasn’t possible to independently verify most details of the incident. People who live near the airport who were contacted by the media said they were unaware of any attack, and photos released by the government showed only what appeared to be crashed drones.

Armed wing launched drone attacks on the airport and a military headquarters in the capital but the ruling military said it destroyed the drones as they attacked