A Myanmar military junta jet fighter dropped a 500-pound bomb on a building belonging to the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) near Waley Myaing town, south of Myawaddy town in Karen State, around 10 am on 19 July, according to sources close to the group.
“The site of the DKBA’s training camp located just outside Waley Myaing was bombed. There were
casualties. The building was totally destroyed,” one source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The airstrike occurred as the Karen National Union (KNU), the People’s Defence Force (PDF), and allied revolutionary forces were mounting a joint offensive to seize the Waley strategic hill camp, a key military position near the Thai-Myanmar border.
Just days earlier, on 13 July, the junta also deployed four kamikaze drones to attack front-line resistance positions near Waley Myaing. At around 8:30 pm, two of the drones crashed and exploded inside the compound of an online scam centre located along Waley Road.
“That evening, two drones arrived. Fifteen minutes after the first one crashed, the second followed. One exploded near the dining building. The building was damaged, but no one was injured. Some believe jammers caused the drones to fall, but both hit the same location. A shell also struck near a major weapon just a few days before,” said a source close to the DKBA.
Repeated attempts to contact DKBA officials for comment on the latest airstrike were unsuccessful.
The Waley area has seen intensified fighting in recent months. On 28 May, junta forces dispatched from the Waley strategic hill camp to reinforce the Thay Baw Boe base clashed with the KNU, PDF, and allied troops in Sone See Myaing village, where the DKBA’s headquarters is located. The clash resulted in heavy junta losses, including deaths, captures, and desertions into Thai territory. In the aftermath, the junta carried out an airstrike on the village.
Since May, revolutionary forces have seized eight junta bases near the Thai-Myanmar border, including outposts along the Myawaddy–Waley Road. The joint resistance is currently advancing on the last remaining junta stronghold in the area – the Waley strategic hill camp.
