Myanmar capital military base attacked by drones, anti-junta groups say

YANGON – A military base in the capital of army-ruled Myanmar came under attack by drones on April 4, the shadow government and local media said. A local armed resistance group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The National Unity Government (NUG), an alliance of anti-junta groups formed to undermine military rule in

the wake of a 2021 coup

, said the attack was carried out in Naypyitaw, but provided no details on the drones used or whether the base sustained any damage.

Reuters could not independently confirm the information.

But in what appeared to be a rare attack on the junta’s centre of power by its opponents, the junta said that security services shot down seven drones over the military-built capital Naypyitaw on April 4.

Four drones approaching Naypyitaw airport and three drones approaching Zayarthiri township in the capital “were successfully shot down and destroyed”, the junta’s information team said in a statement.

There was no damage or casualties, it added.

It was not clear if the NUG and the junta were referring to the same attacks.

The junta has been fighting on multiple fronts to contain

uprisings around the country

and stabilise an economy that has wilted since the coup.

Naypyitaw is home to much of the military government’s defence hardware, built in a remote area of central Myanmar about two decades ago by the previous junta, which had ruled for more than two decades.

A spokesperson for the NUG’s affiliate in Naypyitaw, the People’s Defence Force (PDF), said it carried out its attack under the instruction of the NUG’s defence ministry and said it took place in two locations, one of which was an air force base.

It did not provide details of the attack.

The NUG’s defence ministry could not immediately be reached for details of the alleged attack, and other NUG sources referred Reuters to the group’s initial statement.

Myanmar is locked in a civil war between the military on one side and, on the other, a loose alliance of ethnic minority rebels and so-called PDFs, a movement spawned out of the junta’s bloody crackdown on anti-coup protests.

Its military-installed president in 2023 said

the country was at risk of breaking apart

, while its ruling general last week called for unity among the people and military to fight armed groups with foreign backing that were seeking to destroy the country and derail plans to hold an election.

Citing unnamed military and security personnel, news outlets BBC Burmese and Khit Thit reported that the runway of the air force base had been closed to remove munitions.

The runway is connected to the city’s civilian airport.

News outlet Mizzima said, without providing a source, that 16 drones were used to attack the military base and 13 were used in an attack on the air force base.

Reuters could not independently verify the information. REUTERS, AFP