At least 24 people were killed and nearly 50 injured Monday after a pair of bombs were dropped on a crowd celebrating Myanmar's Thadingyut festival—by a person flying a motor-powered paraglider. The attack hit a group of around 100 people who had gathered for the Buddhist holiday in Chaung U township, according to the exiled National Unity Government. The event also doubled as a candlelight vigil opposing military conscription and calling for the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
The bombings left the scene in chaos, with witnesses describing bodies that were difficult to identify and reports that organizers were still recovering remains a day later. Myanmar has been locked in civil war since the military ousted the government in a 2021 coup, with the UN estimating over 5,000 civilians killed to date. Elections set for December are to be the first vote since the junta took hold, but critics doubt the election will be free or fair and warn it could simply cement the military's power.
The New York Times reports the military has over the last year been making use of motorized paragliders, called paramotors, as a means of attack, per a recent report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The BBC notes the junta has struggled to secure aircraft and helicopters due to sanctions and has turned to paramotors as a result. The Times reports that the chain saw-like sound of the motor typically spurs people to seek shelter, but that the sound was drowned out by prayers that were booming from a loudspeaker during Monday's event.
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