Resistance forces used drones to attack the Myanmar military’s Southeastern Command in Mon State’s Mawlamyine Township while deputy junta chief Soe Win was there to oversee operations at the Thai border earlier this week.
Alpha Bats Drone Force, a unit of the Shar Htoo Waw Technical Force resistance group, carried out attacks on Monday evening and at noon on Tuesday, a spokesman for the group said.
The unit attacked the command with two fixed-wing drones on Monday, and five on Tuesday.
“The bombs were quite powerful. Our drones can penetrate jammers. The Southeastern Command was protected by several layers of jammers [when we launched the attacks]. Each drone carried one big bomb, and both exploded,” the spokesman said on Monday.
Soe Win was at the command to closely supervise military operations in Myawaddy, Thingannyinaung and Kawkareik in Karen State, where the regime is facing an onslaught from the Karen National Liberation Army and allied People’s Defense Force groups.
Alpha Bats Drone Force claimed that Soe Win and a few other top military officers were injured in the Tuesday attack and that at least three of them later died. The Irrawaddy has not been able to independently verify the claim, however.
One resident of Aung Mingalar Ward east of the command said: “I heard two loud explosions around 5 p.m. [on Monday]. Houses shook. Then I heard the sound of aircraft around six times.”
The command’s sports hall and helipad were struck in Tuesday’s attack, said the spokesman for the Alpha Bats Drone Force.
“We still don’t know the extent of the damage or the number of casualties. Residents told us that the road in front of the Southeastern Command was cordoned off, and three military vehicles headed in the direction of Mawlamyine Airport,” the spokesman told The Irrawaddy regarding Tuesday’s attack.
Another resident confirmed hearing explosions on Tuesday.
The regime briefly blocked roads following the attacks, and further tightened regular checks, said residents.
Junta forces have been firing artillery shells indiscriminately since the drone operation, said the spokesman.
“The regime apparently fears that resistance forces will advance to the outskirts of the town. People can neither leave nor enter the town now,” he said.
Security has been tightened since December after the house of the Southeastern Command chief, which is inside the command’s compound, came under a drone attack, said a resident.
“Previously, we could easily visit [relatives who live at] the command. But security has been tightened since then. People who live in the cantonment can’t leave unless they have a reason. And people outside can’t visit them. So, we don’t know what is happening inside.”
Resistance forces on Saturday carried out a drone attack on junta Transport and Communications Minister Mya Tun Oo, who was in Mon State’s Mudon Township to inspect a new airport project.
Another Shar Htoo Waw team, Kloud Drone, together with special forces of its People’s Defense Force unit, launched drone attacks on Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s residence, his military headquarters and a major airbase in the regime’s administrative capital Naypyitaw on April 4.
