In brief
In the early hours of Friday, a Myanmar military air strike targeted a monastery in Myaung township, Sagaing region. The attack, reported by opposition fighters and a local rescue worker, killed fourteen people—mostly elderly monks—and injured several others. Two separate strike bursts hit the site, striking while rescuers were on scene. The monastery had been hosting a meditation retreat for the Buddhist Lent. Myanmar has been embroiled in civil war since the 2021 military coup, and the junta is frequently accused of striking civilian sites.
The Myanmar military is blamed for a double drone attack that struck a monastery in the Myaung township in Sagaing region early on Friday, killing fourteen people, most of them elderly monks.
The site had been hosting a meditation retreat to mark Buddhist Lent when the strike occurred, according to opposition fighters and a local rescue worker who provided details to BBC Burmese.
The first bombing took place at about 09:00 local time (02:30 GMT). The monastery, used for a quiet meditation centre, was hit a second time while rescuers were canvassing for survivors, the fighter said.
All of those killed were aged between 50 and 70, with eleven men and three women among the victims. Five of the victims hailed from the village of Chhay Hoe O, with the remaining nine coming from a neighbouring township, telling AFP.
The junta has not provided any comment on the attack, though it has repeatedly claimed its operations only target legitimate military objectives. This incident adds fresh concern to the tally of civilian casualties in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war that began after a 2021 coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi.
