Myanmar military authorities have arrested 17 people in connection with a rocket attack on an air base in the capital, Naypyidaw, junta media reported on Monday, the latest attack on a sensitive target at the heart of the military’s administration.
Three rockets were fired into the Aye Lar air force base in Lewe, one of the capital's eight townships, on Tuesday last week, officials told the junta-backed Myanmar Alin newspaper.
It did not say what type of rockets or how many were fired but the junta said there were no casualties or damage.
A pro-democracy militia force known as the Mountain Knights Civilian Defense Force said it, in cooperation with another group called the Mercury Revolution Force, had carried out the attack but it said those detained by junta forces had nothing to do with it.
“We … attacked the Naypyidaw air force base and successfully fired five out of seven 107 mm rockets. All involved are safe,” said a militia spokesperson who declined to be identified.
Brave Warriors for Myanmar, another rebel group involved in planning the attack, said 34 junta officials of various ranks were killed and three military aircraft including an A-5 bomber and a Y-12 utility aircraft, were damaged. Radio Free Asia was not able to independently verify the claims.
Anti-junta insurgent forces sprang up after the military ousted an elected government in early 2021, ending a decade of tentative reform and plunging the country into turmoil.
The pro-democracy militias, known as People's Defense Forces, have teamed up with ethnic minority guerrillas battling for self-determination, making advances against junta forces in several parts of the country.
In response, the military has been increasingly using its air power to launch attacks, inflicting a growing toll on the civilian population, rights groups say.
The rocket attack last Tuesday came weeks after military authorities said they had broken up a plot to kill the junta chief in the main city of Yangon by urban guerrillas armed with three 107 mm rockets.
The civilian shadow National Unity Government announced an attack on the Aye Lar air base on April 4, while Mountain Knights Civilians Defense Force claimed to have also attacked the same base a week later.
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‘NLD members’
Junta forces raided Thit Sin village near the capital after the latest attack and arrested the 17 suspects, said a resident of the area who declined to be identified for security reasons. He identified two of those detained as Pyae Pyoe Aung and Thet Khaing Tun.
A resident of Thit Sin told RFA junta forces picked up known supporters of the party of ousted government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who he said had nothing to do with the rocket attack.
“Members of the National League for Democracy were among those who were taken for interrogation,” said the Thit Sin resident, who also declined to be identified.
“They are ordinary villagers. They don’t have rockets, they don’t even have ordinary guns,” he said.
The National League for Democracy swept elections in 2015 and 2020 but it was ousted in the 2021 coup.
The junta said in its statement that after “necessary investigations,” officials would take action against those arrested.
The member of the militia group that claimed responsibility for the rocket attack also said those detained had nothing to do with the attack.
“These people being arrested and interrogated by the junta are ordinary villagers, not our team members.”
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and RFA staff.