Paragliders: The army's lethal new weapon in Myanmar's civil war
It was a Monday night in Myanmar's Chang U township in 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. He managed to make his way into a nearby ditch and hid there until his friends pulled him out. "This is mass murder," he said of the attack. "They are committing it openly." It's one of many such airstrikes carried out this year by Myanmar's military to defeat armed resistance groups. It is also a clear sign that the paramotor - a low-tech but lethal weapon - has become a fixture in the junta's brutal aerial campaign to regain control of the country. Follow link for full story...