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A Myanmar insurgent group claimed responsibility for dropping a bomb on the airport in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Tuesday when junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing was scheduled to fly to China, the group said.
There were no reports of any injuries and Min Aung Hlaing and his delegation arrived in the southern China city of Kunming for talks on investment opportunities later in the day, military-controlled media reported.
“We bombed the airport today because the junta leader is going to China. We can confirm the bombing,” a spokesperson for an anti-military Naypyidaw People’s Defense Force told Radio Free Asia, adding that a drone had been used to drop the bomb.
“Those who carried out the mission on the ground are out of danger.”
Military authorities have not released any information about the attack and attempts to contact the junta’s main spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, went unanswered.
People posting on junta-run channels on the Telegram messaging app said the bomb was dropped between the airport’s runway and parking lot at 8:20 a.m. and an initial inspection determined it was made with a PVC pipe.
Since the military seized power in a coup on Feb. 1, 2021, rebel groups have increasingly focused attacks in urban centers, including on administrative centers in the largest city, Yangon, on ceremonies attended by Min Aung Hlaing, regional military bases and the Chinese embassy.
A Naypyidaw resident near the airport told RFA that he heard a blast at around 8 a.m. and security forces immediately began blocking off roads.
“We could hear the explosion loud and clear. Now the airport and all the connecting roads are closed and being inspected,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for security reasons.
Min Aung Hlaing met Chinese businessmen at Kunming’s Hualuxe Hotel to discuss opportunities for foreign investment in Myanmar, the development of electricity projects, the electric vehicle sector and other sectors, a state-run publication reported.
Min Aung Hlaing was scheduled to attend regional meetings from Wednesday to Thursday, including the 8th Greater Mekong Subregion, 10th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit and the 11th Cambodia-Lao-Myanmar-Vietnam Summit, junta media reported on Monday.
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Translated by Kiana Duncan. Edited by RFA Staff.