Candlelight protest turns deadly: paramotor attack in Sagaing

This article reflects findings analysed as of 10 October 2025. Myanmar Witness’s investigation is ongoing, and further verification updates, including munitions, are expected on Monday, 13 October. Any new information will be shared as soon as it’s available

WARNING: This article contains graphic information and imagery. While efforts have been made to blur details, the investigation includes information that some readers may find distressing.

A reported paramotor incident struck a candlelight event in Bon To village, causing multiple fatalities, injuries and damage to homes and a school.

On the evening of 6 October 2025, the Monywa town-based Northwestern Regional Military Command, a key unit of Myanmar’s armed forces, reportedly conducted an airstrike in Bon To village (ဘုံတို), Chaung-U Township (ချောင်းဦးမြို့နယ်), Sagaing Region (စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး). The reported incident coincided with the Thadingyut Full Moon Day, when residents from Bon To village and nearby communities had reportedly gathered near the village school to take part in a candlelight event.

At around 20:00 local time, two alleged paramotors reportedly dropped two 120mm bombs on the crowd. According to local media outlet Red Peacock, a second strike occurred around 23:00, while people were reportedly assisting those injured from the first attack.

Regarding casualties, the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Human Rights reported 19 deaths, including three children and two women, and 40 injuries. Local reports indicate the death toll has risen in the days following the incident.

This candlelight event was reportedly part of a nationwide candlelight protest held on 6 October, calling for the release of political prisoners, and rejecting Myanmar’s conscription law and planned elections.

Before this investigation, Myanmar Witness had documented 78 incidents involving paramotors in Myanmar.

Investigation

Geolocation

Myanmar Witness identified and geolocated several media-reported videos that show damage in Bon To village. Through cross-referencing multiple sources, including footage uploaded by Mandalay Free Press and Upper Burma News Agency, the location of the footage was verified at coordinates [21.964376, 95.173408] (figure 1).

Myanmar Witness analysed two videos uploaded by Upper Burma News Agency, which reportedly show clips of the candlelight event held in Bon To village before and after the reported incident. The analysis identified two significant matchings: the school building and its entrance, visible in both the ‘before’ and ‘after’ footage (figure 2). Despite low visibility at night, Myanmar Witness concluded that the gathering likely took place at the same location as the reported attack.

Myanmar Witness reviewed additional imagery and footage reportedly showing the aftermath of the incident to try to confirm the timing and location of the attack. Footage from TRT World, [WARNING: GRAPHIC] Red Peacock and Khit Thit Media, uploaded on the day of the reported incident and in the following days, illustrates the same area (see figure 3). In the nighttime footage reportedly captured during the incident, there are visible signs of casualties and fires that can be observed. In addition, there is a damaged school building visible in one of the videos, and this is consistent with the previously geolocated structure. 

Further footage depicts a red vehicle, which can be visible in both nighttime and daytime material uploaded by TRT World. This suggests that the vehicle was present at the scene during and after the reported incident. In the close-up footage, a casualty is visible near what appears to be the same red vehicle (figure 4). Not only does this support the assessment that the footage depicts the same location, but it also suggests the likelihood that casualties occurred as a result of the reported incident. 

Based on the visual alignment, cross-referencing of these sources, and the geolocated building, Myanmar Witness assesses with high confidence that the reported attack took place at night in Bon To village at the coordinates [21.964376, 95.173408] and this resulted in observable damage and casualties.

Chronolocation

The date of the incident has not been independently confirmed as of yet. However, the footage of the casualties and damages observed first appeared on 7 October 2025, and the timestamps on several images from People’s Spring show that they were taken around 15:00 hours local time on 8 October 2025. These are consistent with the alleged date of the incident, 6 October 2025.

Was the damaged building a school?

Myanmar Witness analysed user-generated content (UGC) to identify the damaged structure in Bon To village, as observed in footage following the reported incident. 

Multiple features visible in the footage strongly indicate that the damaged building is a school. These include a signpost reading “The Ministry of Education, Basic Education Primary School, Bon To Village, Chaung-U Township,” as well as interior details such as classroom layouts, benches and desks, which are all consistent with typical school furnishings (figure 5 and 6). 

With these findings, Myanmar Witness assesses that the reported attack in Bon To village resulted in damage to civilian infrastructure, specifically a school. 

 Casualties

Myanmar Witness analysed and documented UGC uploaded by [WARNING: GRAPHIC] Red Peacock News and other social media accounts (private source) to identify casualties from the reported incident. Fourteen figures were logged, and it was reported that the majority of the casualties were attending the protest. 

The National Unity Government’s [WARNING: GRAPHIC] Ministry of Human Rights claimed that a total of 19 people died as a result of the attack. These included:

• Fourteen men (four of them were reportedly leading the protest)
• Three children (two boys and one girl) and, 
• Two women 

The footage analysed depicts graphic injuries and fatalities. According to the [WARNING: GRAPHIC] Ministry of Human Rights, the reported attack also injured 40 people, 20 of whom were children, 13 were men, and seven were women. 

However, Mandalay Free Press stated that over 20 people had died on the day of the reported attack, and on the following day (7 October), the death toll had risen to over 40 people

In addition, as part of the death toll, Maun News (မောင်း) reported that several individuals from the Sagaing Region strike force, We are People Relief and Rescue Team, Monywa-Amyint Road Strike Leading Committee, and members from the People Defence Force (PDF) based in Monywa and Chaung U were killed in the incident. 

Myanmar Witness analysed one of the videos depicting the deceased bodies, and one clip showing a deceased individual appearing to show some resemblance to one of the individuals Maun News reported was killed. However, further verification is required to confirm this. 

As a result of the death toll reportedly increasing, Myanmar Witness cannot independently identify the number of casualties and fatalities. In addition, as a result of limitations in UGC, Myanmar Witness was not able to verify the cause of death and whether the deceased individuals observed were killed as a result of a paramotor attack. 

Actors

The National Unity Government’s [WARNING: GRAPHIC] Ministry of Human Rights released a statement that the Northwestern Regional Military Command of the Myanmar Military carried out the attack, allegedly using a paramotor.

At the time of writing, the Myanmar military had not published a statement regarding this incident. 

Therefore, Myanmar Witness has not been able to independently confirm who the perpetrators were behind the reported attack. 

Was the candlelight event a protest?

Online sources gathered and analysed by Myanmar Witness, including media outlets such as Mandalay Free Press, [WARNING: GRAPHIC] Red Peacock, as well as UGC (private source), have reported that the attack was carried out during the protest. The posts from social media channels unanimously claiming that the incident took place during a protest significantly strengthen the claim. 

Upper Burma News Agency’s video shows gathered people holding candles and chanting protest songs. It’s a tradition in Myanmar that such events as these are held during the Myanmar Full Moon Day and are typically hosted in religious compounds such as Pagodas. The place where the attack happened is near a constructed religious building or likely monastery (See figure 10). Therefore, Myanmar Witness considers it highly likely that a protest was taking place when the attack occurred and that it took place close to the religious compound.

Was the candelight festival a military target?

Myanmar Witness examined the available material to assess whether the reported incident specifically targeted the candlelight protest. 

While Myanmar Witness could not independently confirm the nature of the candlelight event or its participants, reports from the Mandalay Free Press included local accounts claiming that those injured and killed in the airstrike included residents, members of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), protest participants and PDF members from Bon To village and its nearby communities. 

Given these claims, it is possible to suggest that the candlelight event may have been perceived as linked to anti-military groups and thus could have been specifically targeted. The Myanmar Air Force (MAF) has reportedly conducted similar incidents on gatherings of civilians, perceived to be resistance-aligned, which Myanmar Witness has investigated, such as the airstrike on a wedding in Mingin in June 2024.