This is the terrifying moment the Burmese army bombed a rebel base after resistance forces shot down a military helicopter.

Burmese junta troops pounded the Phasong camp with retaliatory airstrikes, injuring many Karenni soldiers in Kayah State on Monday.

The aerial attacks came after guerrilla fighters shot down a Myanmar army helicopter a few days earlier, killing two soldiers onboard.

The intensified attacks left border hospitals nearing capacity as the Khun Yuam Hospital in Mae Hong Son, Thailand declared an emergency on July 7.

Nearby hospitals sent additional equipment and manpower amid a surge of injured rebel soldiers arriving at Khun Yuam Hospital.

Three died at the hospital, while two severely injured individuals were transferred to the Srisangwan Hospital for further treatment.

A Karenni Army spokesman said the increased bombings were carried out as they were preparing to siege the base of Myanmar's 135th Infantry Battalion west of Phasong Village.

Myanmar has fallen into civil war following the removal of democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, with a military coup in 2021.

Soldiers responded with barbaric force on protesting civilians leading to widespread condemnation and financial sanctions. Rebel groups and civilian militias around the country have since been locked in a series of ongoing clashes with the ruling military.

Aung San Suu Kyi has since been jailed for 33 years on politically motivated charges and is likely to die behind bars unless the army is toppled - a tragic end the politician hailed by Barack Obama as an 'inspirational icon of democracy'.