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Paragliders: The army's lethal new weapon in Myanmar's civil war

BBC News

It was a Monday night in Myanmar's Chang U township in the central Sagaing region, where nearly 100 people had gathered to mark Thadingyut, the festival of the full moon. Some held candles at the event, which doubled as both a celebration and a protest against the military, which seized power in 2021, plunging the country into a bloody civil war. But the celebration soon turned into horror as a motorised paraglider - known locally as a paramotor - flew overhead and dropped bombs onto the crowd. The attack lasted just seven minutes, but at least 26 people died as a result and dozens more were injured. Initially, I thought the lower part of my body had been severed, one 30-year-old who was at the gathering told news agency Reuters.