The junta has increased security measures at Myitkyina Airport in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina City, since 10 April 2025.
Prior to 10 April, Myitkyina Airport was guarded by police officers, but as of 10 April security has been increased and approximately 20 junta troops have also been stationed at the airport’s entrances and terminals, according to a 40-year-old Myitkyina resident.
He said: “There are soldiers inside the airport and some in the air control tower. There are also troops at the entrance. I think a unit of the junta has been sent to the airport to beef up security.”
Since the February 2021 coup, people going to the airport have had to go through a checkpoint on the airport’s perimeter manned by soldiers from the junta’s Infantry Battalion (IB) 37 who carry out detailed inspections and verify the national identification cards (NICs) of everyone passing through. But, this is the first time soldiers have also been deployed in and around the airport buildings.
The airport is within the special zone around the junta’s Northern Region Military Command and resistance forces often target it with artillery and makeshift rockets.
Prior to the deployment of the soldiers at the airport there had been several incidents in which resistance force artillery shells and rockets landed near the airport. But, it seems that the extra troops posted at the airport have not stopped such attacks.
Another Myitkyina resident said: “On 4 May an artillery shell landed in the field between the airport and the nearby Basic Education High School 4 (BEHS 4), though fortunately, no one was hurt. Two shells also fell in April. It seems like that’s why the junta has ramped up security at the airport around the clock.”
The airport is in Pammatee Ward in the west of Myitkyina City. The number of makeshift, unguided rockets landing near the airport has caused some residents of Pammatee ward to move to other areas of the city.
Since late 2024 there has been an increase in the number of resistance force artillery attacks and explosions in Myitkyina City, which has caused civilian casualties and damage to homes.
