Myanmar Military Paramotor Strike in Sagaing Region Leaves Dozens dead and Wounded
Chaung-U Township, Myanmar – A recent military strike utilizing armed paramotors has resulted in a devastating loss of life and widespread injuries in myanmar’s Sagaing region, marking the deadliest such attack to date. The strike, which occurred Monday in Chaung-U township, reportedly killed dozens and injured over 40 people, including at least 20 children, many with severe injuries.
The attack unfolded swiftly following an alert from opposition forces warning of paramotors departing from the nearby Northwestern Regional Military Command – a warning that provided less than 10 minutes for civilians to seek shelter. “As of this morning, we were still collecting body parts from the ground,” a witness told AFP the day after the attack, illustrating the horrific scale of the devastation.
The Myanmar military has been increasingly deploying armed paramotors, aircraft from which pilots drop 120mm mortar rounds “without any capacity for precision targeting,” according to a United Nations report. More than 135 paramotor attacks have been reported as December 2024, creating “grave new threats” to civilians, as documented by ACLED data.
Compounding the crisis, the junta has imposed a blockade on humanitarian aid, hindering access to essential medicine and blood transfusions for the wounded. this obstruction is consistent with the military’s longstanding “four cuts” strategy – a tactic designed to isolate and terrorize civilian populations - and violates both a December 2022 UN Security Council resolution and ASEAN’s 2021 five-point consensus, as highlighted by Human Rights Watch.
International pressure is mounting for ASEAN member states, who are convening at a summit starting October 26, to address the situation and compel the junta to allow unfettered humanitarian access to contested areas.
Beyond aid access, calls are growing for stronger action to cut off the military’s funding sources. Advocates are urging governments to expand and fully enforce sanctions, and to coordinate a ban on the sale of aviation fuel to myanmar. Nearly five years after the February 2021 coup, the junta has faced limited consequences for what rights groups describe as ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity, raising fears that unlawful attacks against civilians will continue.
