Twelve members of a local resistance group were killed and over 20 others injured on Wednesday when the Myanmar Air Force launched a devastating series of airstrikes on their camp in Mon State’s Ye Township.
A military source told DVB that a Y-12 fighter jet dropped at least 20 bombs during the aerial assault, completely destroying the resistance camp.
According to a local resident who spoke on the condition of anonymity, there was no active fighting between regime and resistance forces in the area at the time of the unprovoked strikes.
The fate of Ye Belu
The targeted resistance group is named after its prominent leader, Ye Belu. Following the attack, pro-military social media accounts quickly circulated claims that Ye Belu himself was among the 12 casualties.
However, military sources and the resistance group have refuted those claims, confirming that the leader was traveling away from the camp when the airstrikes occurred and was not injured.
While the group cited “security reasons” for not disclosing the exact location of the destroyed camp, they did release images confirming the deaths of their members in the regime’s bombardment.
Who is Ye Belu?
The Ye Belu resistance group was founded in January 2022 to stage military operations against regime forces operating in Mon State.
In December 2023, the local group officially began operating under the command of the National Unity Government’s (NUG) Ministry of Defence.
The group has been highly active in the region. Most recently, on May 11, Ye Belu fighters reportedly assassinated the deputy commander of the military’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 106 in Mon State’s Lamaing Township, located approximately 85 miles (137 km) southeast of the state capital, Mawlamyine.
At least 147 people have been killed and 291 injured in 307 separate aerial attacks carried out by regime forces nationwide since April 10, according to DVB data. These attacks have utilized fighter jets, gyrocopters, motorized paragliders, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones.
