At least 24 civilians were killed and 47 others injured after Myanmar’s military launched an aerial assault on a peaceful gathering in the Sagaing region, using motorised paragliders to drop bombs on the crowd.
The attack took place on Monday evening in Chaung U township, central Myanmar, where around 100 people had assembled for a national holiday and to protest against the junta’s rule. A spokesperson for the country’s government-in-exile said Burmese that the strike marked one of the deadliest incidents in recent months.
According to local witnesses, the assault lasted barely seven minutes. “Children were completely torn apart,” one woman who helped organise the event said, adding that rescuers were still collecting body parts on Tuesday. A member of the local People’s Defence Force (PDF) said they had received intelligence of a possible airborne attack but were unable to disperse the crowd in time.
The Sagaing region has been a key stronghold of armed resistance since the 2021 military coup, with much of it controlled by the PDF and other ethnic militias. However, the army has regained ground in recent months through a brutal campaign of airstrikes and heavy shelling.
Amnesty International condemned the latest attack as part of a “disturbing trend,” noting the junta’s growing use of motorised paragliders to compensate for aircraft shortages amid international sanctions. “This should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection,” said Joe Freeman, Amnesty’s Myanmar researcher.
Analysts say the junta’s access to advanced drones and technology from China and Russia has given it a renewed edge on the battlefield despite sanctions.
Monday’s candlelight vigil was intended to protest military conscription, demand the release of jailed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and reject the junta’s planned December general elections which critics say will be neither free nor fair.
The upcoming vote will be Myanmar’s first since the 2021 coup, but opposition parties have been banned and elections are only expected to take place in territories controlled by the military.
Amnesty and other rights groups have urged ASEAN, which meets later this month, to increase pressure on the junta and abandon what they call a failed diplomatic approach that has “betrayed the Myanmar people.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
About the Author
