40 killed by para-bombing at Buddhist festival in Myanmar

A devastating attack struck a Buddhist festival in central Myanmar, killing at least 40 people and injuring 47 others after a motorised paraglider dropped bombs on a gathering, according to BBC Burmese reports.

As per reports, the incident occurred on Monday evening in Chaung U township, where around 100 people had assembled to celebrate the Thadingyut festival, a Buddhist holiday. As the crowd prepared to disperse after receiving warnings of a potential airstrike, a paramotor appeared unexpectedly and released two bombs within minutes, causing mass casualties, a local representative of the anti-junta People’s Defence Force (PDF) said.

Myanmar has remained in turmoil since the military seized power in 2021, triggering a brutal civil conflict that the United Nations estimates has killed more than 5,000 civilians.

Human rights group Amnesty International denounced the use of paramotors in such assaults, describing it as part of an alarming new tactic adopted by the junta.