Myanmar Junta’s New Terror Tactic

Death from Above: Myanmar Junta’s Paraglider Attack on Festival Shocks World

A military-operated paraglider dropping bombs on a peaceful Buddhist festival has left dozens dead and scores injured within Myanmar's central region, marking a brutal escalation in the junta's war against its own people. The attack reveals a terrifying new tactic in a conflict that has displaced millions and pushed the nation towards collapse.

An Evening of Celebration Turns to Carnage  

On a Monday evening, under the light of the Thadingyut full moon, around 300 people had come together in the township of Chaung U, located in the Sagaing area. They gathered for a significant public holiday, a time for candlelight and reflection. The event also served as a nonviolent demonstration opposing the military rulers. Participants called for an end to forced conscription and demanded freedom for political detainees, which included Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted leader. Suddenly, the festive atmosphere shattered. A motorised paraglider, a low-tech but deadly weapon, appeared in the sky. It dropped two 120mm mortar rounds directly into the crowd, unleashing devastation.

The Immediate, Grisly Aftermath         

The explosions tore through the gathering, instantly killing many and maiming others. Survivors described a scene of unimaginable horror, with bodies dismembered and mutilated by the blasts. Identifying the victims proved incredibly difficult for locals who rushed to help. One woman, who helped organise the vigil but was not present during the attack, attended funerals the next day. She told reporters that human remains were still being gathered, a grim testament to the attack's ferocity. The final death toll remains contested, with reports varying from 24 to over 40 killed. At least 47 people sustained injuries, many of them severe, overwhelming local medical resources.

A Pattern of Brutality from the Skies

This horrific incident is not an isolated event. It represents an alarming pattern of the junta increasingly targeting civilian gatherings from the air. The Sagaing area has been a primary conflict zone and a centre of opposition activity, bearing the brunt of this aerial campaign. The United Nations reports that between March and May 2025 alone, the region suffered over 108 airstrikes, resulting in at least 89 deaths. The military, facing significant territorial losses across the country, has grown more reliant on its aerial power to terrorise populations in areas it no longer controls on the ground, a strategy designed to crush dissent through fear.

The Junta’s New Weapons of War

The use of paramotors, or motorised paragliders, signals a tactical shift. These cheap and relatively simple aircraft can be deployed to evade more sophisticated air defence systems that resistance forces might possess. International sanctions have complicated the junta's efforts to procure jet fuel and maintain its fleet of conventional helicopters and aircraft. In response, the military has turned to these less conventional methods, augmented by a supply of modern drones obtained from China. This support, coupled with technological expertise provided by Russia, has been pivotal in shifting the momentum of the war back in the junta's favour.

A Resistance Under Pressure

For more than four years, volunteer militias have waged a determined insurgency against the military. These militias, collectively called the People's Defence Force (PDF), have, in regions like Sagaing, not only fought the junta's forces but also established their own local administrations, providing essential services to communities abandoned by the state. An official connected to the regional PDF stated they had been given intelligence about a possible airborne attack on the festival. They attempted to conclude the gathering quickly, but he said the paraglider arrived sooner than anyone anticipated, unleashing its deadly cargo in a matter of minutes.

The Shifting Tides of a Civil War

The military takeover of February 2021 plunged Myanmar into a devastating civil war. After ceding authority over a majority of the nation, the junta has begun to regain ground. This resurgence is largely due to its brutal air campaign and crucial foreign support. Beijing now gives its complete backing to the junta and has also been pressuring ethnic armed groups along the China-Myanmar border to cease providing armaments for the broader opposition. This two-pronged approach has severely hampered the resistance, forcing insurgents to surrender a significant portion of the territory that they had painstakingly secured in recent years.

A Spiralling Humanitarian Disaster

The conflict has created a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering proportions. The United Nations estimates that more than 3.5 million people are internally displaced, having fled their homes to escape the violence. Prior to the 2021 power grab, only one million people required humanitarian assistance; today, that number has skyrocketed to nearly 20 million, roughly a third of the population. A quarter of all citizens face hunger as the healthcare system has collapsed and the economy is in freefall. Aid workers operate under immense danger, with dozens killed and hundreds arrested since the military takeover. The junta frequently blocks humanitarian access, compounding the misery of its people.

International Response: Sanctions and Condemnation

The international community has responded with condemnation and sanctions, but with limited effect. The UK, EU, and Canada have imposed sanctions targeting the military's access to aviation fuel, aircraft parts, and funds. These measures have reportedly reduced the junta's ability to make military purchases. However, the regime has proven adept at evading these restrictions, finding new banks and illicit channels to procure necessary resources. Human rights groups continue to call for a comprehensive global arms embargo and more robust enforcement of existing sanctions to genuinely cut off the military's lifelines.

The Role of Regional and Global Powers

The response from Myanmar's neighbours and global powers has been fractured. The regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has led diplomatic efforts, establishing a "Five-Point Consensus" for peace in 2021. Yet, the agreement, which calls for an end to violence and inclusive dialogue, has been utterly ignored by the junta. ASEAN itself is divided, with some members advocating for stronger action while others pursue their own parallel diplomacy. Meanwhile, Russia and China provide the junta with critical military and diplomatic support, shielding it from more forceful international pressure at forums like the United Nations.

A Sham Election on the Horizon

Despite the nationwide conflict and its tenuous control over extensive areas of the nation, the junta intends to stage a general election in December. Critics have widely denounced the plan as a "sham," an effort to create a veneer of legitimacy for military authority. Many opposition parties, including the National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu Kyi, have been banned and their members jailed. Voting is likely to take place in only about half the country, in the shrinking areas the military still firmly controls. International observers fear the election will be neither fair nor free and will only serve to deepen divisions and fuel more violence.

The Plight of Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was the leader chosen through a democratic process and removed from power during the 2021 takeover, remains a potent symbol of the country's struggle for democracy. Since her arrest, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been held in detention by the military. She has faced a series of secretive trials on a range of charges that supporters say are politically motivated and designed to remove her from public life permanently. The calls for her release, and that of thousands of other political prisoners, were a central theme of the protest at the Thadingyut festival, a plea for freedom that was met with lethal force from the skies.

Voices from the Ground

The terror of the attack continues to reverberate through the Chaung U community. One survivor recounted how the blast had wounded his leg, while individuals standing close by were killed instantly. The psychological scars run deep for those who witnessed the carnage. The difficulty in identifying the dead speaks to the sheer brutality of the weapons used against unarmed civilians. The attack was not just on a crowd, but on a sacred cultural and religious event, an assault on the very fabric of community life in a nation already torn apart by years of conflict and repression.

An Alarming New Precedent

Amnesty International has highlighted the junta’s deployment of motorised paragliders as one element of a deeply concerning new strategy. This low-cost, high-impact tactic allows the military to conduct terror campaigns against communities with a degree of deniability and operational ease that conventional airstrikes might not afford. Joe Freeman, an Amnesty researcher, described the attack as a "stark warning" that demands urgent action to protect civilians. The deliberate targeting of a peaceful gathering, he argued, underscores the junta's complete disregard for international humanitarian law and the sanctity of human life.

The Collapsed Healthcare System

The 47 people wounded in the paraglider attack faced a dire situation. Myanmar's healthcare system, already fragile before the coup, has effectively collapsed under the weight of conflict and neglect. Health workers have been systematically targeted by the junta for their perceived affiliation with the Civil Disobedience Movement, with many killed, arrested, or forced into hiding. Hospitals and clinics have been bombed. For the injured in remote areas like Sagaing, accessing advanced medical care, blood transfusions, and essential medicines is nearly impossible, turning survivable injuries into death sentences. The junta's blockades on aid routes exacerbate this crisis.

The Economic Freefall

The civil war has pushed Myanmar's economy to the brink of collapse. Widespread instability has shattered livelihoods, disrupted agriculture, and halted investment. Inflation has soared, making basic necessities unaffordable for millions. The World Bank has painted a grim picture of a contracting economy with rising poverty rates. This economic desperation fuels the conflict, as the military seeks to control valuable natural resources and illicit trade routes, while ordinary people struggle for daily survival. The junta's economic mismanagement and prioritisation of military spending over public welfare have deepened the country’s social and economic turmoil.

Education Under Attack

The conflict has had a devastating impact on an entire generation of children. Schools have been frequent targets of military attacks, with hundreds bombed or occupied by troops. In May 2025, a junta airstrike on a school in Depayin township, also located in the Sagaing area, killed 24 civilians, including 22 children. Many children are too afraid to attend school, and countless others are displaced from their homes, with no access to education at all. This systematic assault on education is not only a violation of children's rights but also a deliberate strategy to undermine the future of communities that resist military rule.

The Rohingya: A Persecution Within a War

While the world's attention is on the post-coup conflict, the plight of the Rohingya minority continues. The estimated 600,000 Rohingya who remain in Rakhine state are caught in the crossfire between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group. The junta has reportedly engaged in the forced recruitment of Rohingya men and boys, a cruel tactic that inflames tensions with the Rakhine Buddhist community. They face severe movement restrictions, aid blockades, and constant fear. For the Rohingya, the current civil war is another layer of persecution on top of decades of systematic discrimination and violence.

A Fractured International Community

The global response to the crisis in Myanmar remains deeply inadequate. While Western nations have imposed sanctions, their impact is blunted by the lack of a unified global front. Russia and China continue to provide the junta with weapons and diplomatic cover, effectively vetoing stronger action at the UN Security Council. Regional body ASEAN's inability to enforce its own peace plan has exposed its institutional weaknesses. This diplomatic paralysis has left the people of Myanmar feeling abandoned as they face the daily reality of the military's escalating brutality.

A Future in the Balance

Four and a half years after the military seized power, Myanmar is on a "path to self-destruction," according to the UN Special Envoy. The junta, though facing unprecedented resistance and significant territorial losses, remains entrenched due to its control of key urban centres and its willingness to use extreme violence. The opposition, a diverse coalition of pro-democracy activists and ethnic armed groups, is determined but fractured. With no end to the fighting in sight and a deepening humanitarian crisis, the future of the nation hangs precariously in the balance. The assault on the Thadingyut festival is a stark reminder of the price civilians are paying.