According to Myanmar Witness, an open-source investigation shows Yak-130 is armed with missiles and cannons.
The Myanmar military has been accused of using Russian-made Yak-130 aircraft with ground-attack capability against civilians to stamp out resistance to its rule.
Myanmar Witness, a London-based group that collects evidence of rights abuses in Myanmar, said it has been able to verify open-source investigations on several occasions involving unguided rockets and 23mm cannons in built-up areas were used.
“Myanmar Witness has confirmed repeated deployments in Myanmar of the Yak-130 — a sophisticated Russian-made two-seat jet trainer with documented ground-attack capability,” Myanmar Witness said in its report released on Friday. “During this investigation, credible reports and geolocation uncovered the use of the Yak-130 in populated, civilian areas.”
Among the most recent incidents, a video shared to Facebook last month showed at least one Yak-130 making two passes and firing multiple salvos of unguided missiles at the ground. A second video showed at least one Yak-130 making at least five passes and firing about 18 unguided missile salvos.
The attacks are said to have taken place south of the township of Myawaddy in southeastern Karen state, where ethnic armed groups have long struggled for autonomy and are training and supporting civilian militias set up to fight back the February 2021 coup.
Myanmar Witness located the two videos and said they were filmed just 200 meters from the Thai-Myanmar border.
It also confirmed an incident in February 2022 when at least one Yak-130 was identified taking part in an operation west of Loikaw in Kayah state, also on the Thai border to the east.
“The indiscriminate use of sophisticated attack aircraft, particularly when deployed in coordination with other military aircraft, stands in stark contrast to the means and methods employed by the groups considered insurgents by the Myanmar military,” the report said .
Myanmar was plunged into crisis in February 2021 when army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing took power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup sparked mass protests and outbursts of anger, to which the military responded with violence. More than 2,000 people were killed in the raid, while nearly 700,000 were forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.
Russia is a key supplier of arms and equipment to the Myanmar military, and Min Aung Hlaing was in Moscow earlier this month to finalize more deals.
Russia delivered 12 planes to Myanmar between 2015 and 2019, when it was still under civilian administration, but six more jets were unveiled at Meiktila air base in December last year, a Myanmar witness said.
In March, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom blacklisted senior military officials, including the newly appointed chief of the Air Force, over escalating military violence. The sanctions also targeted the procurement and delivery of weapons to the Air Force.
Because of the military’s repeated airstrikes on civilians, human rights groups have urged the international community to step up sanctions and impose an embargo on jet fuel sales to Myanmar.
Myanmar has to import all of its aviation fuel, be it for civilian or military use.