A rare drone attack on Myanmar's military-ruled capital has been claimed by groups opposing the military's rule but the army says many were shot down.
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 military-built capital, Naypyitaw.
Set amid arid scrubland in the centre of the country, Naypyitaw is home to the junta's top brass and civil servants and has been sheltered from much of the fighting that has engulfed other areas of the country.
The opposition National Unity Government's "Defense Ministry" said in a statement that special units of the People's Defense 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.
The NUG, previously led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was overthrown in a coup in 2021.
The NUG said there were reports of casualties but Myanmar's military said it shot down seven drones and denied people had been injured.
The junta's information team said in a statement that four drones approaching the city's airport and three drones approaching Zayarthiri township in the capital "were successfully shot down and destroyed".
It was not possible to independently verify most details of the attack.
Naypyitaw's airport was temporarily closed after the incident around 10am local time, according to a source at the airport, who asked for anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The source confirmed there were no casualties, adding that one of the downed drones was carrying a bomb that was later defused.
Pictures released by the junta's information team purportedly of the aftermath showed a broken, fixed-wing drone lying on the tarmac and a large piece of debris in a wooded area.
Drone attacks becoming frequent
Outgunned and outnumbered, opponents of the junta have turned to flying commercial drones adapted to carry bombs that can be dropped on military positions, with devastating effect.
In recent months, waves of "drop bomb" attacks across Myanmar have displaced junta troops from positions, hit domestic airports and killed a brigadier-general near the China border.
The term has even entered the lexicon of junta-controlled media, which regularly attacks PDF groups — designated as "terrorists" by the military — that use the drones in battle.
In recent months, the junta has lost swathes of territory in border areas, and analysts say it is relying more on air and artillery strikes to support its embattled troops.
AP/AFP/ABC
