(Reuters) – A military base in the capital of army-ruled Myanmar came under attack by drones on Thursday, the shadow government said, an attack a local armed resistance group claimed responsibility for.
Reuters could not independently confirm the information and the military government could not immediately be reached for confirmation the incident had taken place.
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.
A spokesperson for the NUG’s affiliate in Naypyitaw, the People’s Defence Force (PDF) said it carried out the attack under the instruction of the NUG’s defence ministry and said it took place in two locations. It did not provide details.
If confirmed, the attack could be a major blow to the credibility of a military that is facing its biggest test since first taking power of the former British colony in 1962.
The junta has been fighting on multiple fronts to contain uprisings around the country and stabilise an economy that has wilted since the coup.
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 last year 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 who were seeking to destroy the country and derail plans to hold an election.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
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