Myanmar’s military ramps up air power as it retakes key town

bangkok — Myanmar’s military has deployed new fighter jets to boost its air capabilities, state media reported Friday, as the military steps up efforts to retake territory from resistance forces in the country’s civil war.

Myanmar’s state-run Global New Light newspaper did not specify the number or types of newly deployed aircraft, but photos released by the military indicate it has received four jet fighters, including two Russian-made Su-30 aircraft widely used for bombing and combat operations.

It is the sixth time the military has deployed the new aircraft since Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government seized power in February 2021, sparking armed resistance across the country.

Russia and China are the main backers and arms suppliers of Myanmar’s military government. Western countries have imposed sanctions, including a ban on arms sales.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s ruling military government, was quoted by the newspaper as saying the air force must be strong to “effectively protect state interests”.

According to the report, he said the Air Force has demonstrated its capabilities in past counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations as well as operations to repel external aggression.

The military government has lost large parts of the country to the pro-democracy People’s Defense Force and ethnic armed groups. It has intensified efforts to retake territory and made several battlefield gains, and its airstrikes have often resulted in civilian casualties.

The opposition National Unity Government, or NUG, which organizes resistance to military rule, and the Karen National Union, an ethnic armed group fighting the military, said in separate statements on Monday that around 30 to 40 people were killed when the military used drones, jet fighters and artillery.

The powerful Arakan Army ethnic militia in western Rakhine state said on Wednesday that 116 captured army soldiers, including officers, were killed in a detention camp in An township when eight military planes carried out an airstrike on Sunday.

The army has not mentioned any attacks in Bago and Rakhine. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesman for the NUG, told the AP that the launch of the new planes was intended to augment ongoing airstrikes in civilian areas.

He said the army was “carrying out mass killings targeting civilians. It is important for the international community not to turn a blind eye to this reality.”

Global New Light of Myanmar also said in a separate report that the army had retaken control of the ancient town of Tagong in northern Mandalay after weeks of siege.

Tagong, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, has been under the control of forces aligned with the NUG since August 2024.

The recapture of Tagong, the last NUG-controlled town in the Mandalay region, marked the latest setback for opposition groups fighting the military.

Nya Phon Lat said resistance forces withdrew from the town after launching a military offensive using large numbers of troops and heavy weapons, but they still maintain positions in areas outside it.