24 killed as Myanmar army paraglider bombs Buddhist festival

At least 24 people were killed and 47 others injured when Myanmar's military dropped two bombs from a motorised paraglider on a crowd protesting against the junta, a spokesperson for the government-in-exile told BBC Burmese.

The attack took place on Monday evening as around 100 people gathered in Chaung U township in central Myanmar to mark a national holiday.

Since the 2021 military coup that sparked a civil war with armed resistance groups and ethnic militias, thousands have been killed and millions displaced. After losing control of more than half the country, the military has recently regained ground through an increasingly brutal campaign of airstrikes and heavy shelling.

Monday's incident was one of hundreds of air raids carried out this year by Myanmar's armed forces. The junta has recently bolstered its air capabilities with new drones purchased from China—now openly backing the regime—and technical assistance from Russia.

Beijing has also been pressuring rebel groups along its border with Myanmar to halt arms supplies to opposition forces. As a result, insurgents have been forced to retreat from many territories gained over the past two years.

The latest attack targeted a township in the Sagaing region, where people had gathered for the Thadingyut full moon festival to hold a candlelight vigil. The event was organised as a peaceful protest against military conscription and the upcoming national election, and also called for the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the deposed and jailed democratic leader.

Sagaing has been a major flashpoint in the ongoing conflict, with much of the region under the control of volunteer militias known as the People's Defence Force (PDF). These groups also run local administrations. A local PDF official told BBC Burmese they had received warnings about a possible aerial strike during Monday's gathering.

They tried to disperse the crowd, but the paramotors—locally known as paragliders—arrived earlier than expected, he said. "It all happened in seven minutes," he added, saying he was injured in the explosion while several others around him were killed.

Locals said many bodies were unrecognisable after the blast. "Children were completely torn apart," a woman who helped organise the event told AFP. She said she was not present during the attack but attended funerals the next day, adding they were still "collecting body parts."
In a statement on Tuesday, Amnesty International said the junta's use of motorised paragliders to strike civilian areas was part of a "disturbing trend."

BBC Burmese recently reported that the military had increasingly turned to paramotors due to shortages of aircraft, helicopters, and jet fuel. Although international sanctions have made it difficult for the junta to acquire weapons, recent support from China and Russia appears to have shifted the balance.

Joe Freeman, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher, said the attack "should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection." He also urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which meets later this month, to "increase pressure on the junta and revise an approach that has failed the Myanmar people for almost five years."

Myanmar is set to hold general elections in December—the first since the coup—but critics argue the polls will neither be free nor fair. Many opposition parties have been banned, and voting is expected to take place only in areas under military control.