Myanmar Military Bombing Kills 40 Civilians at Festival and Anti-Junta Protest: Latest in Escalating Civil War

A devastating military attack at a festival gathering and anti-government protest in Myanmar resulted in 40 fatalities, including children, according to reports provided to AFP on Tuesday by an attendee and a local committee member.

Myanmar has been engulfed in civil conflict since the military coup in 2021, which prompted pro-democracy fighters to arm themselves and form alliances with ethnic armed groups against the junta regime.

In Chaung U township in central Myanmar, hundreds had assembled to celebrate the Thadingyut full moon festival on Monday evening when military forces dropped bombs on the crowd, as reported by a member of the event's organizing committee.

Speaking under condition of anonymity due to security concerns, the woman explained that people were gathering for both the festival and an anti-junta demonstration around 7:00 pm when the bombing occurred, killing over 40 individuals and injuring approximately 80 more.

"The committee warned people and about one-third of the crowd managed to escape," she told AFP. "But immediately afterward, a motor-powered paraglider flew directly over the crowd," releasing two bombs at the center of the gathering.

"Children were completely torn apart," stated the woman, who though not present during the attack, attended funerals the following day.

She added that when another motorized paraglider overhead departed the area, people rushed to assist the wounded.

"As of this morning, we were still collecting body parts from the ground—pieces of flesh, limbs, parts of bodies that were blown apart," she further reported.

A resident of Chaung U who was present at Monday's event confirmed the estimated death toll, describing how people attempted to flee upon noticing the paramotor flying overhead.

"While I was telling people 'please don't run,' the paramotor dropped two bombs," he recounted to AFP, also speaking anonymously.

"Two of my comrades were killed right in front of me. Even more died before my eyes."

He mentioned attending funerals on Tuesday for nine friends who lost their lives in the attack.

A local news outlet also reported that 40 people were killed in the military strike.

Junta representatives were not immediately available for comment late Tuesday.

Human rights organization Amnesty International stated that the nighttime attack "should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection."

The attack demonstrated that the military is "intensifying an already brutal campaign against pockets of resistance," according to the London-based organization.

"The international community may have forgotten about the conflict in Myanmar, but the Myanmar military is taking advantage of reduced scrutiny to carry out war crimes with impunity," said Joe Freeman, Amnesty's Myanmar researcher.

Freeman urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc to increase pressure on the Myanmar junta as ASEAN officials prepare for a meeting later this month.

The junta has promoted elections scheduled to begin on December 28 as a path toward reconciliation.

However, a UN expert has dismissed the vote as a "fraud" designed to disguise continued military rule, while rebels have pledged to obstruct the electoral process.

The military is currently besieging rebel strongholds, aiming to expand territorial control before the upcoming polls.