Myanmar Spring Chronicle – August 8 Scene
(Moemaka) August 9, 2024
Airstrikes by the Junta’s Struggling Troops
The military council’s troops, who are facing defeat on the ground, are resorting to daily airstrikes to defend and maintain their bases, command centers, and military headquarters across the country. These airstrikes, involving dozens of fighter jets, training aircraft, and helicopters, stretch from the southernmost Tanintharyi Region to the northernmost Kachin State, the eastern Shan State, and the western Rakhine State.
In Northern Shan, the junta is using airstrikes to target administrative offices, markets, and religious sites in towns like Kutkai, Laukkai, Thinni, and Muse—towns that have fallen out of their control. The airstrikes raise questions about whether these are precise attacks based on ground intelligence or if they are intended to intimidate and prevent a return to normalcy in these areas.
For example, during intense battles over Lashio, the MNDAA’s capture of a hospital under the Northeastern Military Command led to a retaliatory bombing of a hospital in Laukkai. Similarly, in response to the attack on Kyaukme, certain areas of Kutkai were bombed, reflecting a tit-for-tat approach.
Before the military coup in 2021, the military had used air support in battles with ethnic armed groups, but never to the extent of the current daily usage of fighter jets and helicopters. The frequency of these airstrikes, the loss of aircraft, and the deaths of pilots due to accidents or attacks over the past three years are at unprecedented levels. Recently, a senior officer died when his helicopter crashed during takeoff.
The junta has been heavily investing the country’s tax revenues and natural resource funds into military expenses, particularly for airstrikes, over the past three years. The cost of fuel and ammunition for these airstrikes is undoubtedly substantial.
Following the recent surge in airstrikes in Northern Shan towns, three northern armed groups issued a joint statement on August 6, urging international governments, including China, to intervene. The statement labeled the junta’s airstrikes on non-combat zones as war crimes, with a specific plea for China to help prevent further airstrikes.
Despite international calls for sanctions on aviation fuel sales to the junta, the sanctions have not yet been fully effective. Some ASEAN countries continue to sell fuel to the junta, despite others refraining from doing so. While civilian airlines in Myanmar have been conserving fuel, the military aircraft have shown no such restraint.
The airstrikes, occurring at all hours, from dawn to midnight, are intended to prevent opposition forces from preparing or evading. The only potential defense against these airstrikes would be acquiring anti-aircraft weapons, a costly and complex endeavor requiring significant international intervention.
In Northern Shan and Rakhine States, the opposition forces have captured strategic bases and military headquarters, potentially seizing anti-aircraft weapons, though it’s possible that such weapons were destroyed before the bases fell. Currently, it appears that the opposition forces are not yet equipped to effectively counter the junta’s airstrikes, meaning the junta is likely to continue its air campaigns to destabilize the regions it cannot reclaim.