On May 18, around 9:00 a.m., homemade rockets fired towards the Northern Command Headquarters in Myitkyina, Kachin State, fell and exploded in Pammati Ward, killing three people and injuring at least five others, according to local witnesses.

Pammati Ward is located between the Northern Command Headquarters and Nangpaung Airport.

The three people who died as a result of the homemade rocket explosions were a mechanic living in the neighborhood and two 19-year-old youths who had come from the town of Sinbo to escape fighting.

“Four rockets fell in the neighborhood. Than Hlaing, a mechanic near the market, died. His house was hit. His wife was injured. In another place, two were injured and two died. The Myitkyina army did not shoot. It was shot from the east bank of the Ayeyawady River. It is said that homemade rockets were fired. A rocket fell into the river too,” said a local.

It is reported that the state government provided 1 million kyats to each of the deceased and 300,000 kyats to each of the injured.

On May 18, there were reports that the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) attacked the military headquarters and the airbase with homemade rockets. The KIA and PDF (People’s Defence Force) joint forces had previously attacked the Nangpaung Air Base in Myitkyina with homemade rockets on March 7 and April 19.