Mandalay airport drone attack targeted jets, rebels say

Myanmar's People's Defence Forces claimed responsibility on Friday for a drone raid at Mandalay airport, saying they targeted Russian-made Yak-130 fighter jets stationed by the runway rather than the civilian airport.

The military-backed government said six “suicide drones” attacked the central Myanmar airport on Thursday afternoon, causing no casualties but disrupting flight schedules. It accused rebels of targeting “a non-military, public transportation system”.

The People's Defence Forces said in a statement shared on Facebook that three of its members were killed staging the attack. The group accused the government of spreading deceptive information to make it appear that Mandalay International Airport was the target.

A security source told AFP the airport was “closed protectively” for most of Friday before reopening around 4:00 p.m. local time, or 0930 GMT.

Mandalay airport is Myanmar's second-biggest airport and serves international and domestic flights. Civilian air raid warning groups frequently identify it as a runway for military jets launching sorties in the civil war.

AFP said it could not verify whether the attack site was civilian or military, though its reporters have previously seen military aircraft flying over Mandalay airport.

Myanmar has been in civil war since the military seized power in 2021 and ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The People's Defence Forces are the largest pro-democracy guerrilla group to form after the coup.

Rebel groups and Myanmar's military both use drones in the conflict. Some monitors say the war has killed more than 100,000 people, while analysts say the military's air force has been important in fending off opposition factions.