Myanmar’s military launched a paraglider attack on a village, killing at least 24 people, including children, and injuring over 50, according to villagers, a resistance member, and media reports.
The Monday night strike used a motorized paraglider and targeted a central Sagaing region village during a Buddhist festival that included a rally calling for the release of political prisoners held by Myanmar’s military government.
Myanmar has been in a civil war since the army seized power in February 2021, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Much of the country, including Bon To, the site of the attack, is controlled by resistance forces. The village lies about 90 kilometres (55 miles) west of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.
“The sickening reports emerging from the ground in central Myanmar following a nighttime attack late on Monday should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
A member of a local resistance group who attended the event said more than 100 people from Bon To and nearby villages had gathered at the village’s primary school compound Monday evening for an oil lamp lighting ceremony marking the end of Buddhist Lent, which also called for the release of political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.
A motorized paraglider dropped two bombs at about 7:15 p.m., killing an estimated 20 to 40 people, including children, villagers and members of local political activist groups and armed anti-military groups, said the resistance fighter, who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity to safeguard his personal security. More than 50 others were wounded, including himself, he added.
The resistance fighter said an alert had been issued through a network of mobile phones and walkie-talkies that had tracked the paraglider from the army’s northwestern military command in Monywa, about 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of Bon To.
A local resident who also attended Monday’s ceremony said the crowd began to disperse after hearing reports of an approaching paraglider, but it arrived sooner than expected and dropped bombs while people were still in the school.
The resident, who helped in rescue efforts after the attack, said at least 24 people were known to have been killed, though the death toll could be higher as the victims’ family members and rescue workers worked independently to collect the bodies.
Both witnesses said the paraglider returned to the scene around 11 p.m. and dropped two more bombs without causing additional casualties.
The military has not acknowledged carrying out an attack in the area. More than 7,300 people are estimated to have been killed by security forces since the army’s 2021 seizure of power, according to figures compiled by nongovernmental organizations.
Myanmar's military also uses Chinese and Russian-made combat aircraft and helicopters, but since late last year has stepped up the use of low-tech motorized paragliders in what is believed to partially be an effort to save money.
Resistance forces lack effective defenses against any kind of air attacks.
(With AP inputs)
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