A paraglider dropped bombs on a celebration in Myanmar, killing at least forty people.
According to a member of the committee that organized the Thadingyut full moon celebration, hundreds of people were gathered in the Chaung U township on Monday night when the military rained bombs on the crowd.
According to the woman, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, the explosions killed about 40 people and injured approximately 80 more at around 7:00 p.m. while people were assembling for the festival and an anti-junta protest.
“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.
“Children were completely torn apart,” said the woman, who was not at the scene but attended funerals on Tuesday.
She claimed that people hurried to assist the injured when another motorized paraglider flew by.
“As of this morning, we were still collecting body parts from the ground – pieces of flesh, limbs, parts of bodies that were blown apart,” she added.
The estimated number of persons who tried to flee when they realized the paramotor was flying overhead was confirmed by a Chaung U resident who was present at the occurrence on Monday.
“While I was saying to people “please don’t run.” the paramotor dropped two bombs,” he said, 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 claimed that he went to nine friends’ funerals on Tuesday. According to a local media station, the incident claimed the lives of forty people.
Late Tuesday, it was not immediately possible to get in touch with a junta representative for comment.
Since the military overthrew the government in a coup in 2021, pro-democracy insurgents in Myanmar have been waging a civil war, joining up with ethnic armed groups to fight the regime.
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in a statement that the nighttime attack “should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection.”
The London-based group claimed that the attack demonstrated how the military was “intensifying an already brutal campaign against pockets of resistance.”
“The international community may have forgotten about the conflict in Myanmar, but the Myanmar military is taking advantage of reduced scrutiny to carry out war crimes with impunity,” said Joe Freeman, Amnesty’s Myanmar researcher.
Millions have been displaced and many have been killed since 2021.
The military has begun to make notable progress even though it lost control of almost half of the nation.
The first general elections in Myanmar since the coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration in 2021 are scheduled for December.
Opponents say the referendum is a charade intended to legitimize military dominance, while the junta, commanded by General Min Aung Hlaing, says it will restore civilian administration.
The army and ethnic rebel groups are still engaged in intense combat, and the opposition National League for Democracy has been dissolved.
Analysts caution that the election may lead to new upheaval and extensive violence, given the conflict in many parts of the nation, strong media regulations, and a lack of impartial observation.
Reports state that the military has burned villages and displaced inhabitants in rebel-held towns through artillery and airstrikes.’
