Myanmar rebels target Mandalay airport with suicide drones

Myanmar’s Mandalay international airport suspended all international flights after a drone attack by anti-military rebels, while domestic services were shifted to a nearby airport, Myanmar Airways International said.

An airline official in Bangkok said flights to Mandalay on Sept. 11 and 12 were canceled because the airport had closed. State-run Global New Light of Myanmar said security forces thwarted an attack by the People’s Defence Force, which launched six first-person-view suicide drones at the airport.

The newspaper said the attack temporarily disrupted some domestic flights but caused no casualties or damage to vehicles or runways. Local media said resistance forces were targeting military jet fighters at the airport.

Reuters could not independently verify the situation. Myanmar has been in conflict since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021.