Resistance attacks air force base in Bago Region
A resistance group calling itself the Brave Warriors for Myanmar claimed that it launched 11 rockets at the Kaytumadi Air Force Base in Taungoo Township of Bago Region which killed 10, including two air force officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and injured at least 12 others on Sunday. Taungoo is located 134 miles (216 km) north of the region’s capital Bago.
“This attack was in response to the military’s bombing and killing of civilians, including the airstrike on the school in Ohhteintwin village of Depayin Township that killed children and teachers,” a spokesperson from Brave Warriors for Myanmar told DVB. He added that three aircraft used to launch airstrikes against resistance forces were destroyed by rockets.
This was the ninth attack on the Kaytumadi Air Force Base since March 2023. The Brave Warriors for Myanmar claimed that it and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) launched five rockets at the regime’s Bayinnaung combat training school in Thandaunggyi Township on Monday. It also attacked the Southern Military Command and Kaytumadi Air Force Base with rockets on April 30.
Nine People’s Defence Force members killed in Mandalay Region
At least nine People’s Defence Force (PDF) members were killed during fighting with regime forces in Myingyan, Natogyi, Taungtha and Ngazun townships of Myingyan District, Mandalay Region, over the last four days, the PDF told DVB. It launched an offensive simultaneously against eight regime outposts in the district on May 15.
“We were unable to capture regime camps and had to retreat as they launched retaliatory air and artillery strikes heavily,” a PDF spokesperson told DVB. Another PDF member told DVB that they could bury only three bodies out of the six members who were killed by retaliatory airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force.
Myingyan District is located 69 miles (111 km) southwest of the region’s capital Mandalay. The fighting reportedly continued in the district until May 17. The PDF stated that the regime suffered heavy casualties but did not disclose any number. Singu, Tagaung and Thabeikkyin towns are under PDF control and are administered by the National Unity Government (NUG).
Frontline Poets: The literary rebels taking on Myanmar’s military
Aung Naing Soe, a journalist and documentary filmmaker from Burma living and working in exile, joined the DVB Newsroom to discuss the new book he co-authored with Joe Freeman called Frontline Poets: The literary rebels taking on Myanmar’s military.
“There are many frontlines in the current crisis situation in Myanmar. We feature five poets. One of them is K Za Win, the poet from Monywa in central Myanmar. He was killed by the military in March 2021 during the [anti-coup] protest,” Aung Naing Soe told DVB.
Watch DVB Newsroom season 2 episode 16 featuring Aung Naing Soe on his book Frontline Poets: The literary rebels taking on Myanmar’s military on DVB English News YouTube or Spotify. Follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts.
News by Region
KARENNI—Foreign currency exchange operators in Mese Township reported that counterfeit kyat banknotes are in circulation. Mese is located on the Burma-Thailand border 109 miles (175 km) south of the state capital Loikaw. One operator told DVB that the fake notes are in the 10,000 MMK ($2.2 USD) denomination.
“They look almost identical to real notes at a glance. But if you touch them, the texture feels as smooth as regular paper,” he told DVB on the condition of anonymity. He also warned residents to check for the security thread embedded in genuine banknotes and to feel for the printed numbers as fake notes lack this embossed texture.
MAGWAY—Two civilians sustained minor injuries after the Burma Air Force carried out two airstrikes on a clinic in Kamma town of Pakkoku Township on Sunday, residents told DVB. Kamma is located 115 miles (185 km) south of the region’s capital Magway.
Residents added that there was no fighting between regime and resistance forces and that the clinic has been closed for a year due to the fear of airstrikes. Motorized paraglider attacks on a traditional medicine factory in Kamma town on March 28 reportedly killed two workers at the factory.
SAGAING—Pale Township residents told DVB that four civilians were killed and four others were injured by an airstrike in Nwein village on Sunday. Nwein is under PDF control and is located 13 miles (20 km) west of Pale, which is 35 miles (56 km) southwest of the region’s capital Monywa.
“[The military] carried out an airstrike on a place where civilians live,” a PDF member told DVB, adding that the regime doesn’t differentiate between civilians and the resistance. The PDF claimed that the military only uses aircrafts, paramotors and drones to strike from above.
(Exchange rate: $1 USD = 4,400 MMK)
