Myanmar Junta Uses Paraglider Bombs to Attack Protest, Killing at Least 20 in Sagaing

A 30-year-old protester was attending an anti-junta gathering in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region on Monday when he heard a strange whirring sound above him — the slicing hum of fan blades. Moments later, explosives rained down from a motorized paraglider, also known as a paramotor.

“I was thrown away,” said the protester, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation. “At first, I thought the whole lower part of my body was gone. I touched it and realized my legs were still there.”

At least 20 people were killed in the airstrike, according to the eyewitness, Amnesty International, the shadow National Unity Government, and local resistance forces. The attack marks the latest use of paramotors by Myanmar’s military, which has expanded its arsenal of aerial weapons — from jets to drones — in its escalating war against armed resistance and civilian opposition.

A spokesperson for Myanmar’s junta did not respond to calls seeking comment. The military has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.

The US State Department said it was “deeply disturbed” by the reports, urging the junta “to cease its violence and bombing of civilians, release all unjustly detained prisoners, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and begin genuine dialogue with opposition groups.”

Myanmar has been mired in violent conflict since the 2021 coup that toppled an elected civilian government, triggering nationwide protests and an armed uprising.

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Paramotor Bombings on the Rise

The latest attack occurred around 8 p.m. in Sagaing’s Chaung-U township as residents gathered in a field for a festival, eyewitnesses and local resistance fighters said.

“The military has used paramotors to bomb this area about six times before,” said Ko Thant, information officer for the Chaung-U Township People’s Defense Force.

The junta’s first recorded use of paramotors — small aircraft that can carry up to three soldiers for bombing or shooting missions — dates back to December 2024. Their deployment has since expanded, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

The UN reported that paramotors were also used in March to attack areas already devastated by a powerful earthquake.

“Paramotors are typically deployed in zones with fragmented control, where resistance groups lack the heavy weaponry — such as 7.62mm rifles — needed to shoot them down,” said Su Mon, a senior ACLED analyst, in a July report.

Some rebel factions have claimed limited success against the tactic. In April, the Burma Revolution Rangers group said it had shot down a junta paramotor.

With frontlines stretching from the northern Kachin hills to the western Rakhine coast, the junta has increasingly leaned on airpower, conducting 1,134 airstrikes between January and May — up sharply from 197 in 2023 and 640 in 2024, according to ACLED.

After the Chaung-U strike, the wounded protester said he crawled into a ditch and hid until friends pulled him to safety.

“This is mass murder,” he said. “They are committing it openly.”