Myanmar military fighter jet disappears as resistance group claims to have downed it

BANGKOK — A Myanmar military fighter jet crashed in a combat zone in the country's east, according to an anti-military resistance organization that claimed to have shot it down. State-run media reported about the disappearance of an aircraft.

Maui, the vice commander-in-chief and Secretary No. 2 of the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force, or KNDF, told The Associated Press on Thursday that a jet had been shot down early Wednesday by the resistance fighters during heavy fighting near Hpasawng township in Kayah state, which is also known as Karenni.

Hpasawng is about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of the capital, Naypyitaw.

Claims of aircraft being shot down are difficult to independently confirm, because of tight restrictions on the media and the remoteness of where much combat takes place.

Maui said that the wreckage of the plane, along with the remains of the two pilots nearby, were found on Thursday morning, after a search was conducted. He also posted photos and video of the jet's smoking wreckage on a hill with the resistance fighters, including him, posing in the background. Local media also posted images of a crashed plane with what appeared to be human remains nearby.

The claims that an aircraft had been shot down came a few hours after the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper on Thursday reported that the military fighter jet had suddenly disappeared from radar and lost communications during long-distance training maneuvers on Tuesday night, approximately 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of Naypyitaw.

The report said that it was possibly caused by a technical fault or bad weather, and a search and recovery effort was underway, without identifying the type of jet or mentioning casualties.

The KNDF identified the plane as a two-seater Chinese FTC-2000G, a ground-attack jet. In a statement released on its Facebook page on Thursday, the resistance group said that the military has been launching heavy attacks with various fighter jets after the combined resistance forces seized an army infantry battalion in Hpasawng on Monday.

Maui said that the plane could be the same one that the military had declared missing.

Kayah, which is the smallest of Myanmar's seven states and dominated by the Karenni ethnic minority, has experienced intense conflict, especially since the army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The area borders Thailand and isn't far from Myanmar's capital.

The crisis has led to the growth of armed resistance and embroiled the country in a civil war. The military, which has launched offensives in various parts of the country, makes heavy use of air power, which can't be effectively challenged by the resistance.

Most combat aircraft in Myanmar's military come from China or Russia, which also supply other armaments. Many Western nations maintain an arms embargo, in addition to other sanctions on the ruling military, and are making efforts to block the supply of aviation fuel.

The military is believed to have lost at least five helicopters and four fighter jets, including two aircraft that crashed in May and June, which opposition groups claimed were shot down by them.