At least 20 people were killed when Myanmar’s military carried out an airstrike on a gathering during a festival and anti-junta protest in the central Chaung U township, residents and rights groups said.

The attack took place on Monday night as hundreds of people gathered to celebrate the Thadingyut full moon festival and demonstrate against the military junta. Bombs struck the crowd shortly after 7pm, sending people running for cover.

Reuters, citing eyewitnesses, Amnesty International, and members of the shadow National Unity Government, reported at least 20 deaths on Wednesday. An event organiser told reporters that 40 people, including children, were killed and 80 others injured.

“The committee alerted people and one-third of the crowd managed to flee,” the organiser said. “But immediately, one motor-powered paraglider flew right over the crowd,” dropping two bombs in the middle of the gathering. “Children were completely torn apart,” she added.

Paramotors, or motor-powered paragliders, are increasingly being used by junta forces to drop explosives, fire weapons, and conduct low-altitude surveillance, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Bystander footage taken at night showed flames and people screaming for help. A separate video, filmed the next day, showed a destroyed building and a young man collecting body parts from the scene.

Amnesty International condemned the strike, saying the junta was taking advantage of reduced international attention “to carry out war crimes with impunity.”

“As the military attempts to solidify power with a stage-managed election later this year, it is intensifying an already brutal campaign against pockets of resistance,” said Joe Freeman, Amnesty’s Myanmar researcher.

Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup in 2021, ousting the elected government and triggering a civil war with resistance groups. The junta has scheduled elections for December 28, presenting them as a step toward stability, but critics say the vote is designed to entrench military control.

Before its closure in May, RFA’s Burmese Service reported frequent bombings by the junta, including strikes on schools and villages that have killed dozens and displaced thousands.

The latest attack underscores the military’s growing reliance on aerial assaults as it seeks to crush resistance in rebel-held and contested areas.