Myanmar: At Least 40 Killed, Several Others Injured After Military Drops Bombs During Thadingyut Full Moon Festival & Anti-Junta Protest

Chaung U: At least 40 people were killed after a motorised paraglider dropped two bombs during a festival event and a protest against Myanmar's military government in Chaung U township. The incident took place on Monday. The attack was carried out as around 100 people gathered in Chaung U township in central Myanmar for the Thadingyut full moon festival and an anti-junta agitation.

The incident took place at around 7 pm on Monday. Around 80 others were also wounded in the attack. The deceased also includes children. “One motor-powered paraglider flew right over the crowd,” a woman told news agency AFP. Some people reportedly managed to flee before the attack as a local committee alerted them.

Meanwhile, another motorised paraglider flew overhead as the people rushed to the spot to help the wounded. "While I was saying to people 'please don't run', the paramotor dropped two bombs," a resident of Chaung U told the news agency.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International condemned the attack. In a statement, Amnesty said that the attack “should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection." It further added that the attack highlighted that the military has intensified its brutal campaign against people protesting against it.

"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," Joe Freeman, Amnesty's Myanmar researcher, said as quoted by AFP.

For the unversed, Myanmar has been witnessing civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 after a coup. It forced pro-democracy rebels to take up arms against the junta.