Myanmar airport closed following reported drone attack

Military government pins attack on pro-democracy rebels it has been battling since seizing power in 2021.Flight operations ‌at Myanmar’s second-busiest airport have been halted, as the country’s military-backed government accused rebel groups of attempted drone attacks.Myanmar-airways-international" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="202904" data-entity-type="organization">Myanmar Airways International said on its Facebook page late on Thursday that all international flights from Mandalay’s Tada-U International Airport on September 11 and 12 had been cancelled.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Rohingya refugees demand justice, dignity at Cox’s Bazar protestlist 2 of 4Human rights situation in Myanmar ‘plummets to new low’, UN sayslist 3 of 4Air raids, conscripts and China: How Myanmar’s military is regaining groundlist 4 of 4Cluster munitions kill, wound over 1,000 globally in 2025end of listDomestic flights were being transferred to a nearby airport until further notice for “operational reasons”, the statement added.The state-run Myanmar" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="202906" data-entity-type="organization">Global New Light of Myanmar outlet reported that security forces had thwarted an attack on the airport by the People’s Defence Force. It said the pro-democracy rebel group had fired six “suicide drones” at ⁠the facility.“The attack temporarily disrupted some ⁠domestic flights. However, no casualties or damage to vehicles or airport runways were reported,” the newspaper said.Local media reported that resistance forces were targeting military jet fighters ⁠at the airport, although the situation could not be independently verified by Al Jazeera or news agencies.Myanmar has been gripped by ⁠conflict since the ousting of an elected ⁠government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in a February 2021 coup, prompting a nationwide resistance movement that has evolved into a civil war between the ‌military and an array of armed ethnic and pro-democracy groups.Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s former military government chief, was elected president ‌by ‌a military-backed parliament in April, formalising his grip on power after five years of army rule.