Fortify Rights report describes Myanmar junta’s increased use of paramotors and gyrocopters in attacks on civilians

Mizzima

Myanmar’s military junta has sharply increased aerial attacks on civilians using low-cost paramotors and gyrocopters, marking a deadly shift in tactics ahead of its disputed elections, rights group Fortify Rights said in a report on 26 January.

In a new investigation, the group documented at least 304 attacks involving the ultralight aircraft between December 2024 and mid-January 2026. The attacks were largely concentrated in Sagaing, Magway and Mandalay Regions of central Myanmar.

Paramotors and gyrocopters are small, slow-flying aircraft normally used for recreation, but have been adapted to drop unguided explosives at low altitude in Myanmar. This has allowed for what Fortify Rights described as relatively precise strikes on civilian targets. The attacks have hit schools, hospitals, monasteries and residential areas, the report said.

One of the deadliest incidents occurred on 6 October 2025, when a paramotor bombed a candle-light vigil marking the Buddhist festival of Thadingyut and protesting elections planned for later in the year. The bombing killed at least 24 civilians, including children.

Fortify Rights said the spike in attacks coincided with the junta’s efforts to assert control and intimidate communities ahead of the multi-phase polls, which began on 28 December. The group warned that the tactics appeared deliberately aimed at unarmed civilians in areas lacking air defences. Used in this way potentially constitutes war crimes under international humanitarian law.

Former air force personnel interviewed by Fortify Rights said the aircraft were cheap, easy to assemble and could evade existing jet fuel sanctions, making them attractive for prolonged use.

“The Myanmar military has found new ways to kill civilians from the sky,” said Chit Seng, a researcher at Fortify Rights, calling on governments to tighten sanctions on weapons, aviation fuel and dual-use technologies.