Myanmar junta escalates aerial, drone, naval attacks in Tanintharyi Region

Regime forces have stepped up attacks on resistance forces in Tanintharyi Region in the last two months, deploying drones and warplanes as well as firing heavy artillery from offshore, according to resistance sources. The number and volume of bombs dropped by junta aircraft had noticeably increased in the region since December, according to Yay Bae, head of the Tanintharyi Region Military Command under the defence ministry of the National Unity Government (NUG). Speaking at a January 27 online briefing with the civilian research group Fe5 Tanintharyi—which monitors events in the region—Yay Bae said he and his comrades had observed new tactics involving more intense aerial bombing. “With the arrival of Chinese FTC-2000 aircraft, whereas previously they dropped bombs once per pass from the Chinese planes, now they can repeat the drop,” Yay Bae told Fe5 Tanintharyi. “‘Area Strikes’ have also increased,” he continued. “That is, previously there was no bombing with large aircraft. Only later in 2025 did they start bombing with large aircraft, allowing them to drop 20 to 30 bombs at once. They’ve started carpet bombing—dropping bombs over a wide area.” The junta has also been deploying more kamikaze or “suicide” drones, according to Yay Bae—that is, unmanned aircraft that fly directly into the target, destroying themselves as they detonate. “Suicide drones were already in use but hadn’t been used in Tanintharyi Region yet. Now they are using them here,” he said. “There was an attack on a camp in Kyunsu Township using a suicide drone. A Christian church was attacked.” A resistance member based in Dawei Township—the site of Tanintharyi Region’s capital—told Myanmar Now that regime forces in the region tend to conduct airstrikes after incurring heavy combat losses, but that airstrikes sometimes occur even without any preceding ground battles. He also noted the military’s use of warships for artillery support as well as transport and supply purposes. “They usually carry in forces conscripted for military service, as well as arms and ammunition, using naval warships. If a battle occurs, the warships fire heavy weapons indiscriminately,” the Dawei Township-based fighter said. Meanwhile, the junta’s ground forces have continued operating as usual, often destroying civilian property on raids as well as engaging armed resistance fighters in combat, he said, noting that they had recently torched around 40 civilian houses nearby. “Recently the junta troops torched Shat Pon village in Palaw Township, with fire impacting almost the entire village,” he said. “It seemed to us that they torched and destroyed these civilian houses in retaliation after suffering heavy casualties.” Resistance forces in the region have also been using drones, an Fe5 Tanintharyi representative noted at the January 27 briefing, citing the example of a resistance kamikaze drone strike on the junta’s regional administrative office in Dawei the previous month. The attack, intended to disrupt a general election organised by the junta, was carried out on the first day of the multiphase voting process. The suicide drone penetrated the military’s defences, including signal jammers installed by the regional administration, landing a direct hit on the government office. In Tanintharyi Region, as in most of the country, the military’s control is mostly limited to urban areas, with most rural villages under the control of resistance groups. According to Fe5 representatives, the military has also failed to retake the town of Mawdaung from the anti-junta Karen National Union’s Brigade 4, which has a longstanding claim to territory in Tanintharyi Region. The number of people forced to flee their homes in the region due to armed conflict increased from around 70,000 to 90,000 during 2025, according to Fe5 Tanintharyi’s estimates, creating a growing need for food, medicine, and aid for the displaced.

Myanmar junta escalates aerial, drone, naval attacks in Tanintharyi Region

Struggling to exert control outside of urban areas in Myanmar’s southernmost region, the military has increased the frequency of its bombing, drone strikes, and shelling from warships, according to locally based resistance fighters and conflict researchers

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