14 killed in air strike by Myanmar army on monastery

Airstrikes by the Myanmar (Burma) army on a monastery that was hosting civilians practicing meditation killed 14 people, according to two witnesses who went to the site after the attack, speaking to Agence France-Presse.

Nway Oo Myaung, a pro-democracy rebel who helped retrieve the bodies, said the attack occurred near the town of Myaung in the central part of the country, killing 11 men and three women. He added, “In keeping with the Buddhist tradition of fasting, elderly people went to the meditation center to spend three months there... The victims’ ages ranged from 50 to 70.”

He clarified that the army did not target the site “by mistake, but deliberately attacked the monastery.”

Another local fighter, who requested anonymity for security reasons, confirmed the casualty toll, noting that “five of the dead are from our village, and the other nine are from neighboring villages.” He added, “While we were trying to provide first aid to the people, the plane bombed the site a second time.”

It was not yet possible to reach the army for comment.

More than 100,000 people from various sides have been killed since the outbreak of civil war in Burma in 2021, following a military coup that ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

UN investigators last week released a report accusing the army of escalating aerial attacks on civilians. They emphasized that “the pace and severity of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the army and various armed groups are continuously escalating.”

However, the government rejected what it called “one-sided allegations” based on “inaccurate and unverifiable information.”