At least 32 people, including several children, were killed and more than 50 others injured on Monday night when Myanmar junta forces used paragliders to bomb a peaceful candlelight vigil in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U Township, according to The Irrawaddy.

The vigil, held in Bon To village about 10 kilometers from Chaung-U town, marked the Full Moon Day of the Thadingyut festival — a major Buddhist holiday celebrating light and reflection.

Local sources told The Irrawaddy that two bombs were dropped on the crowd around 7 p.m., hitting hundreds of participants who had gathered for the anti-regime march. “To my knowledge, 32 people were killed, including five from the local defense group. The rest were civilians,” one resident said, adding that over 50 others were injured.

The witness described a horrific scene, saying the bombs scattered the victims’ bodies, making identification difficult. Minutes later, the paragliders reportedly returned to drop another two bombs on the same site.

Many of the victims were young people who had come to join the Thadingyut vigil. Among those killed were four members of the Monywa–Amyint Lan non-violent committee, local outlets reported.

A video circulating on social media shows people screaming and crying as they searched for loved ones amid the aftermath of the airstrike.

Resistance groups from Chaung-U and Monywa have held similar candlelight vigils every Thadingyut since the 2021 military coup.

Meanwhile, the junta also carried out separate bombings in Hsipaw and Namtu townships of northern Shan State, targeting areas controlled by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the ethnic armed organization said.

At press time, The Irrawaddy reported it was still verifying the final death toll from the Sagaing attack.

BOB Post