Four civilians, including two six-year-old children, have been killed after a Myanmar military unit used a low-flying “paramotor” (motorised glider) to drop bombs on a residential home in Shwegyin Township, Bago Region.
The attack occurred shortly before 13:00 local time on 11 March 2026, targeting Inn Ba Lar village (also known as Aw Pa Lar). According to the Karen National Union (KNU), Light Infantry Battalion 20 launched three explosives from the motorised glider, at least one of which scored a direct hit on a family home.
Witnesses reported that the low-flying craft approached the village and released the ordinance over the center of the settlement. “One bomb fell directly onto a house, and some reports suggest a second one hit as well,” a local source told the Myanmar Pressphoto Agency (MPA). “The entire family inside that house was killed”.
The victims were identified as four females, among them two young children. The attack also left an older child, nine-year-old Nobel Linn, in critical condition after losing both a leg and an arm in the blast. A man also sustained a life-threatening shoulder injury, and two cattle were reported killed.
Local sources emphasized that there were no active clashes or military activities in Inn Ba Lar—a large village of some 500 homes located along the Sittaung River—at the time of the strike.
Analysts believe the military is increasing its pressure on Shwegyin and Kyaukkyi townships to prevent resistance forces from consolidating their gains in the Sittaung River basin. “After taking heavy losses during the ‘Aung Myay Operation’ earlier this year, the military is now intensifying strikes on revolutionary-controlled areas to deter further offensives,” a local source added.
The use of paramotors marks a tactical shift in the military’s aerial campaign, allowing for low-altitude strikes that can bypass certain surveillance measures while targeting civilian infrastructure in regions where the junta is struggling to maintain a ground presence.
