Mon State resistance forces shoot down Myanmar junta paramotor; seize weapons in ongoing offensive

Mizzima

Revolutionary forces in Mon State announced on 5 May, that they successfully shot down a military junta paramotor following a series of retaliatory strikes against the regime’s aerial campaign.

According to a statement from the Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the 1st Operation Area, the aircraft was downed on 26 April after resistance fighters opened fire on the paramotor as it was conducting bombing raids over Win Tar Pan and Kyauk Pyar villages in Bilin Township. The downed aircraft reportedly crashed approximately three miles from the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 3 base.

The statement said a paramotor belonging to the military, which had been bombing villages, crashed about three miles from LIB 3 after coming under fire from revolutionary forces. It added that on 4 May, the forces seized a 122 mm shell and 18,000 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition from a military airdrop.

In April, combined forces of the SOF, Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), Karen National Defence Organisation (KNDO), and Local Defence Forces (LDFs) attacked and captured the Let Yek camp in Shwe Kyin Township, Bago Region, and the Lay Kay camp in Bilin Township, Mon State.