Myanmar junta jet fighters and gyrocopters launch retaliatory bombings on Kachin and Sagaing villages following airport drone shootdown

Mizzima

In a series of deadly aerial attacks across northern Myanmar, junta forces killed at least eight civilians and two resistance members on 22 February. The strikes appear to be direct retaliation for a drone which hit a civilian passenger plane at Myitkyina Airport on 20 February. The military has officially labelled the incident a “war crime” by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and People’s Defence Forces (PDF).

At approximately 11:30 pm on 22 February, a junta jet fighter bombed Bum Ka Htaung village, located near the KIA’s second headquarters in Mai Ja Yang, Kachin State. Colonel Naw Bu, the KIA spokesperson, confirmed that the strike killed U Zaw Taung (78 years old) and injured four others. 

“We currently know of four injuries. We are still trying to collect the information,” the source said.

This attack follows intensive lobbyist-led calls on pro-military social media channels to bomb KIA strongholds in Laiza and Mai Ja Yang in response to the Myitkyina airport incident. A kamikaze drone reputedly hit a Mandalay-bound Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) passenger aircraft when it was shot down by airport security forces.

Previously, at around 3:00 pm on 22 February, the junta bombed Pe Noke Swat village using a gyrocopter, resulting in the immediate deaths of seven civilians, including one woman, and injuring five others.

In addition to the seven civilians, reports indicate that two members of the PDF also lost their lives during the attack.

“Many people died in the Homalin airstrike. We’ve confirmed two PDF members and seven civilians so far, and the rest are still being compiled,” the source said.

Immediately following the attack, the junta bombed the Ananpa area of KIA Brigade 9 and the Htai Ra Yang area of KIA Brigade 8 on 21 February, followed by airstrikes on the Bar Par area of Brigade 3 and the territory of Battalion 11 on 22 February, according to the KIA.