The township that was attacked on Monday is in the Sagaing region, which has been a key battleground in the war. Large parts of it are under the control of volunteer militias established after the coup to fight the military governmet, or junta. <\/p>\n
These groups, known as the People’s Defence Force (PDF), also run the local administration. An official in the local PDF told BBC Burmese that they had received information about a potential airborne attack during Monday’s gathering.<\/p>\n
They tried to end the protest quickly, but the paramotors reached the scene earlier than expected, he said.<\/p>\n
It all happened in seven minutes, he said. He says the explosion injured his leg, but some people near him were killed. <\/p>\n
Locals told BBC Burmese that it was hard to identify the bodies in the aftermath.<\/p>\n
“Children were completely torn apart,” another woman who had helped to organise the event told AFP news agency. She was not at the scene but attended funerals on Tuesday, and added that they were still “collecting body parts”.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Tuesday, Amnesty International said that the junta’s use of motorised paragliders to attack communities was part of a “disturbing trend”. <\/p>\n
BBC Burmese recently reported that the junta were increasingly opting for paramotors amid a lack of aircraft and helicopters. <\/p>\n
International sanctions over the past few years have made it harder for Myanmar’s miliatry rulers to procure military equipment.<\/p>\n
However, advanced drones and military technology supplied by China and Russia have given the junta a new edge on the battlefield, according to analysts.<\/p>\n
Joe Freeman, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher, said the attack “should serve as a gruesome wake-up call that civilians in Myanmar need urgent protection”.<\/p>\n
He also called on Asean, the South East Asian regional bloc due to convene later this month, to “increase pressure on the junta and revise an approach that has failed the Myanmar people for almost five years”.<\/p>\n
Monday’s candlelight vigil had been organised as a peaceful protest against the junta’s military conscription and the upcoming national election. They were also calling for the release of political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected leader who was deposed in the coup and jailed. <\/p>\n