At least 24 people were killed when an army sailing plane bombed a Buddhist festival

At least 24 people were killed and 47 others were wounded while protesting against the military government in Myanmar after the army’s sailing plane shot down two bombs on the crowd, a government spokesman said in the exile to BBC Burmese.

The army attacked Monday evening while about 100 people gathered in the town of Chong Yu in central Myanmar for a national holiday.

Thousands have died and millions were displaced since the military coup in 2021, which ignited a civil war with armed resistance groups and ethnic militias.

After losing control of more than half of the country, the army will make great gains again, through a particularly bloody campaign of air strikes and violent bombing.

On Monday, it is just one of the hundreds of similar air strikes carried out by the Myanmar Armed Forces this year.

In recent months, the military government has strengthened its air force with new drones obtained from China – which now supports the military council – as well as technical assistance from Russia.

This, in addition to the fact that Beijing is putting pressure on the rebels along its borders with Myanmar to stop the supply of opposition groups with weapons, means that the military table has turned and that the rebels will have to abandon many regional gains they have achieved during the past two years.

The attack, which took place on Monday, a town in the Sajing region, was targeted, where people gathered in Thedingot, which is the Complete Moon Festival, to hold a protest on candlelight.

It was organized as a peaceful protest against the military recruitment of the Military Council and the upcoming national elections. It also called for the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Qi, the democratic elected leader who was overthrown in the coup and imprisoned.

The Sajing area was a major battlefield in the war, as large parts of it were under the control of the volunteer militias.

These groups, known as the Popular Defense Forces, also manage the local administration. A Burmese Popular Defense Forces official told Burmese that they had received information about a possible air attack during Monday.

He added that they tried to end the protest quickly, but the paratroopers – as they are locally called the paratroopers – arrived at the scene earlier than what was expected.

He said that all of this happened in seven minutes. He says that the explosion hit his leg, but some people close to it were killed.

Local residents said it was difficult to identify the bodies in the wake of the accident.

Another woman who helped organize the event told AFP. She was not at the scene, but she attended the funerals on Tuesday, and added that they were still “collecting the body parts of the bodies.”

Amnesty International said, in a statement on Tuesday, that the use of the Military Council for the automated sailing aircraft to attack local communities was part of a “worrying trend”.

The Burmese Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently stated that the military council was increasingly choosing to use paratroopers amid a lack of aircraft and helicopters, as well as aircraft fuel.

And international sanctions over the past few years have made it difficult for Myanmar rulers to buy military equipment – although the recent flow of technology from countries such as China and Russia seems to have helped transform the helm.

“The attack should be an invitation to wake up horrific that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection.”

The Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) also called on the regional bloc of South Asia to be held later this month to “increase pressure on the military council and review the approach that the people of Myanmar failed nearly five years ago.”

Myanmar is scheduled to do so Public elections in DecemberIt is the first vote since the 2021 coup. But critics say that the vote will not be free and impartial and aims at an attempt to give legitimacy to military rule. Several opposition parties have been banned, and it is likely to vote in only about half of the country, in the army -controlled areas.