A combined lantern festival and anti-junta protest in Chaung-U township, central Sagaing region, Myanmar, was struck by a Myanmar military airstrike, resulting in at least 40 deaths and about 80 injuries. Among the dead are multiple children and women.
According to an event spokesperson, the incident occurred at around 7 pm this Monday (October 6), when hundreds of people gathered in Chaung-U to participate in the Buddhist traditional "Thadingyut Lantern Festival," which was held together with a peaceful candlelight vigil to express opposition to the military government.
During the event, organizers received an air raid warning and promptly announced the event would end early, but the military’s powered paraglider arrived earlier than expected, dropping two bombs on the crowd and causing heavy casualties. Minutes later, the paraglider returned and dropped two more bombs, escalating the tragedy.
One anonymous organizer told AFP on Wednesday (the 8th): "Only about a third of the people managed to escape... children were blown to pieces, and this morning we were still collecting body parts at the scene."
Local media reported that most of the dead were civilians. Amnesty International condemned the attack, called for the international community not to ignore Myanmar's ongoing violent conflict, and said this assault demonstrates the military is "intensifying its brutal crackdown on pockets of resistance."
Amnesty's Myanmar researcher, Freemann, urged ASEAN countries to put greater pressure on Myanmar’s military government during the upcoming ASEAN summit.
Since the 2021 coup, the Myanmar military and resistance organizations, along with ethnic minority militias, have been locked in a protracted civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. Although the junta claims an election will be held on December 28 as a "path to reconciliation," critics generally believe the election will neither be free nor fair and will merely allow the military to maintain unrestrained power.
During the event, organizers received an air raid warning and promptly announced the event would end early, but the military’s powered paraglider arrived earlier than expected, dropping two bombs on the crowd and causing heavy casualties. Minutes later, the paraglider returned and dropped two more bombs, escalating the tragedy.
One anonymous organizer told AFP on Wednesday (the 8th): "Only about a third of the people managed to escape... children were blown to pieces, and this morning we were still collecting body parts at the scene."
Local media reported that most of the dead were civilians. Amnesty International condemned the attack, called for the international community not to ignore Myanmar's ongoing violent conflict, and said this assault demonstrates the military is "intensifying its brutal crackdown on pockets of resistance."
Amnesty's Myanmar researcher, Freemann, urged ASEAN countries to put greater pressure on Myanmar’s military government during the upcoming ASEAN summit.
Since the 2021 coup, the Myanmar military and resistance organizations, along with ethnic minority militias, have been locked in a protracted civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. Although the junta claims an election will be held on December 28 as a "path to reconciliation," critics generally believe the election will neither be free nor fair and will merely allow the military to maintain unrestrained power.