At least 40 people, among them several children, were killed and more than 80 others wounded when an army paraglider dropped explosives on a crowd attending a festival and protest in central Myanmar on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the exiled National Unity Government who spoke to the BBC.

Hundreds of villagers had gathered in Chaung U township in the Sagaing region to mark the Thadingyut full moon festival when the military allegedly carried out the aerial bombing, a member of the organising committee told reporters.

The woman, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, explained that the gathering was intended as both a cultural celebration and an anti-junta protest.

Bombs From Sky

“The organisers warned people, and about a third of the crowd managed to escape,”

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