By MPA
The Myanmar military has launched targeted airstrikes on a rebel stronghold, exploiting a sudden outbreak of intense infighting between two prominent anti-junta resistance factions in the country’s northwest.
The clashes erupted early Tuesday morning in northern Pale Township, Sagaing Region, when battalions operating under the shadow National Unity Government’s (NUG) Ministry of Defence launched attacks on checkpoints held by the Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA). According to local reports, the NUG-aligned forces utilized heavy artillery and weaponized drones in the assault.
Taking advantage of the rebel-on-rebel conflict, the military junta’s Northwestern Command deployed three gyrocopters around noon to bomb the contested area.
Ground sources reported no immediate casualties from the aerial bombardment, but the junta’s intervention has severely escalated the danger for both the fighting factions and local civilians.
The outbreak of violence between ostensibly allied anti-coup forces has caused dismay within the broader resistance movement. B
NRA leader Bo Naga expressed disbelief on social media, publicly condemning the NUG’s offensive as a “surprisingly wicked” act. He stated that under the umbrella of an entity claiming to be the legitimate government, and with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) leading Military Region 1, such “ugly” internal conflicts were previously thought unthinkable.
For local civilians, the infighting has deepened a profound sense of despair. Residents of the nearby Mintaingpin village have already been displaced for nearly eight months due to a permanent junta occupation in their area.
“When I heard the fighting today, I thought they were finally attacking the military. But no, they are fighting each other,” a 35-year-old local man said. “The military troops stationed in Mintaingpin are looting nearby villages alongside pro-junta militias, but they aren’t attacking them. It is incredibly disappointing.”
A frontline resistance fighter echoed this frustration, noting: “If they used this much force to fight the military, the revolution in the Pale region would have been over a long time ago. Now, I don’t even have the words for it.”
As artillery fire and drone strikes continue, trapped civilians are urgently fleeing to safety.
Political analysts warn that this incident serves as a stark lesson for the Myanmar resistance: fractured unity not only destroys public trust but directly provides the military junta with tactical opportunities to strike.
