Junta paramotor bombing on Magway farming community leaves multiple dead, including children

The Myanmar military carried out a paramotor bombing raid in Magway Region on Sunday, killing multiple civilians, including two children. Eyewitnesses report that paramotors—small, motorized paragliders—were used to drop explosives on a farming community, a tactic increasingly used by the junta in recent months. According to sources on the ground, the attack, which took place in Sidoktaya Township, targeted a residential area near the village of Mohnyin. The attack took place at roughly 3am and went on for at least 10 minutes."They dropped a bomb first, then two or three more with two paramotors,” one local source said. “Five to ten homes were damaged. Three were completely destroyed. The bombs fell directly on the cluster of farm huts. Only farmers were there.”Sources say the community lives collectively, farming together and residing in small, closely packed huts without fenced compounds. Among the dead are six women and two men, as well as two children: a three-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy.Photographs show seven bodies covered with blankets, with dead cattle strewn among the wreckage of destroyed huts. There have also been reports of paramotor bombings in Sidoktaya town, though the full extent of the damage remains unclear.The junta has intensified its airstrikes nationwide, relying on fighter jets to counter resistance forces. Since December, it has also deployed paramotors— a cheaper, fuel-efficient alternative—marking a shift in its aerial tactics.Sidoktaya Township borders Ann and Minbya townships in Rakhine State and Kanpetlet Township in Chin State, where resistance forces have been involved in fierce clashes with the regime.The Arakan Army (AA) and its allies seized a junta base in Pandaung Township on February 22. Meanwhile, clashes continue in Nyaungkyoe village, where the military is reportedly using paramotors, according to a DMG news report."Currently, the AA and allied forces are attacking the Nyaungkyoe military base,” a source with knowledge of the attacks said. “The military is bombing with both warplanes and also using paramotors there too.”Sources told Myanmar Now that the paramotor attacks often take place during times of low visibility, and when people are sleeping.The junta first deployed engine-equipped paramotors from the Meiktila Shante Air Force in Taungtha and Natogyi townships in late 2024. Since early February, it has expanded its use across Sagaing Region, according to resistance forces. Eight people living in farm huts were killed in an early morning aerial bombing by the junta. (Photo: Supplied)

Junta paramotor bombing on Magway farming community leaves multiple dead, including children

Junta increasingly utilises paramotors, a low-cost alternative to warplanes, in escalating nationwide airstrikes

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