40 dead after Myanmar paraglider bombs festival crowd in Chaung U

A moonlight festival in Myanmar turned into a massacre when paragliders dropped bombs, killing 40 civilians including children torn apart by the blasts.

A suspected Myanmar military strike on a festival event and protest killed 40 people, including children, an attendee and a local committee member said.

Myanmar has been reeling from civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, prompting pro-democracy rebels to take up arms and ally with ethnic armed groups against the junta.

The festival strikes are believed to related to these as it was held in the highly contested Sagaing region which has been a key battleground in the war.

Damage to vehicles at the site of a military strike on a protest in central Myanmar's Chaung U township. Picture: Facebook/Yebaw Hlyat Cee/AFP

Hundreds of people were gathered in central Myanmar’s Chaung U township for the Thadingyut full moon festival on Monday evening when the military dropped bombs – reportedly from a paraglider – on the crowd, according to a member of the committee that organised the event.

The woman, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said people were gathering for the festival and an anti-junta demonstration at around 7pm Monday (local time) when the bombs killed more than 40 people and wounded about 80 others.

“The committee alerted people and one-third of the crowd managed to flee,” she told AFP. “But immediately, one motor-powered paraglider flew right over the crowd”, dropping two bombs on the centre of the gathering.

A damaged building next to the site of a military strike on a protest in central Myanmar's Chaung U township. Picture: Facebook/Yebaw Hlyat Cee/AFP

“Children were completely torn apart,” said the woman, who was not at the scene but attended funerals the next day.

When another motorised paraglider flying overhead left the area, she said people rushed to help the wounded.

Witnesses reported being hit by shrapnel as the bombs exploded on impact as bodies fell to the ground.

A resident of Chaung U who attended the event confirmed the estimated toll, saying people attempted to run when they realised the paramotor was flying overhead.

Damage to a building next to the site of a military strike on a protest in central Myanmar's Chaung U township. Picture: Facebook user Yebaw Hlyat Cee / AFP

“While I was saying to people ‘please don’t run’, the paramotor dropped two bombs,” he told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Two of my comrades were killed just in front of me. There were even more who died in front of me.”

He said he attended funerals for nine friends who were killed.

A local media outlet also said 40 people were killed in the attack. A junta spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a statement, Amnesty International said that the junta’s use of motorised paragliders to attack communities was part of a “disturbing trend”.

- with AFP

Originally published as 40 dead after Myanmar paraglider bombs festival crowd in Chaung U