Just In : Fighter Jet Crashes
In eastern Myanmar, a fighter jet crashed amid escalating pressure on the military junta that seized power in a 2021 coup, with anti-coup forces intensifying their actions.
The Sit-Tat jet went down in Kayah State near the Thailand border on Saturday, with the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) claiming responsibility for shooting it down.
However, military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun asserted on state-run MRTV that the crash resulted from a technical issue during a training flight, and both pilots ejected safely.
This incident occurs as the military faces a significant challenge from anti-coup forces since seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
An alliance of ethnic armed groups in northern Shan state initiated an offensive two weeks ago, capturing towns and military outposts near the China border. This success has emboldened groups across Myanmar to intensify their campaigns against the junta.
Approximately 50,000 people have been displaced in Shan State, with an additional 40,000 in neighboring Sagaing and Kachin states, according to the United Nations.
The KNDF’s Facebook page posted a statement indicating that heavy machine gun fire hit the fighter, causing it to crash far from the battlefield, leaving a trail of smoke. Both the KNDF and the Karenni Army credited their members for bringing down the plane.
Images posted by the Myanmar news outlet Mizzima purportedly show the abandoned helmet and parachute of one of the pilots. The KNDF is among numerous groups striving to restore democracy in Myanmar following the military’s ousting of Aung San Suu Kyi’s government.
