Chinese military aircraft scrambled to defend China’s airspace on the border in response to a junta airstrike just outside northern Shan State’s Namhkam Town on 27 October 2024.
A junta jet started circling the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) held Namhkam Town at 7:30 am on 27 October, then dropped two bombs on an area south of the town at around 8:00 am.
A Namhkam resident said: “A fighter jet appeared over Namhkam Town at 7:30 am. It circled seven times and TNLA troops attempted to shoot it down from the ground but didn’t succeed. By 8:00 am the airstrike began, with the jet dropping two bombs south of Namhkam Town. I’m not sure exactly where the bombs landed.”
Other Namhkam residents told Shan Herald that junta aircraft continued circling the town even after the morning airstrike. They reported seeing smoke rising from areas just south of the town, such as the Sakhanthit military camp, which the TNLA had seized from the junta, 12-Mile Hill south of Namhkam Town, and Hparhlan Village.
Meanwhile, at this time, a 40-year-old resident of Muse Town, on the China-Myanmar border about 26 kilometres from Namhkam Town, reported hearing the sounds of planes flying on the Chinese side.
He said: "We heard aircraft sounds coming from the Chinese side. While we could hear the planes, we couldn’t see them, so we couldn’t identify their type. Loud booms were also reported from Hwayhuong Village. They seemed to be flying low, and we think Chinese aircraft may have scrambled to secure the airspace.”
On 27 October, the first anniversary of the beginning of the 'Operation 1027’ offensive which saw the Three Brotherhood Alliance take much territory from the junta in northern Shan State, the junta bombed territory taken by the Alliance and its allies, including Laukkai Town which is controlled by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA).
Previously, on 6 September 2024, a junta airstrike hit Namhkam Town while residents were sleeping. It killed 13 civilians, including children and a pregnant woman and injured many others.
