Myanmar airstrike kills 14 at Buddhist monastery in Sagaing region
The ruling military regime has yet to confirm the strike on a meditation retreat in central Myanmar, which local witnesses describe as an intentional attack on civilians.
At least 14 people were killed and 20 others wounded when a military airstrike hit a Buddhist monastery in Swel Le Oh village, Myaung township, in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region. The attack occurred on Friday and targeted a building where more than 100 people were attending a week-long meditation retreat to mark Buddhist Lent.
Nway Oo, a spokesman for the Civil Defense and Security Organization of Myaung Township (CDSOM), stated that the dead included three women. Local witnesses reported that a military jet dropped two bombs 15 minutes apart, with the second strike damaging a nearby house. While the casualty figures are based on reports from opposition groups and local witnesses, the military government has not yet independently verified the toll.
The incident highlights the ongoing tension between the ruling military regime and pro-democracy forces in the country’s civil war. Pro-democracy rebel Nway Oo Myaung described the strike as an intentional attack, stating, "It wasn't a mistaken target; they intentionally attacked a monastery." The village is located approximately 75 kilometres west of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.
The Sagaing region is a known stronghold of armed resistance against the military government, which seized power in a coup in February 2021. The conflict has intensified following elections this year that were widely condemned as a sham, resulting in General Min Aung Hlaing being appointed president. The military has frequently used airstrikes to counter opposition forces in this area.
Recent institutional reports have raised concerns about the nature of these attacks. The United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) accused the military-backed government of conducting “indiscriminate and intentional aerial attacks against civilians.” Last month, conflict monitoring group ACLED estimated that more than 100,000 people have been killed on all sides over the past five years, alleging the regime is adopting a "terror strategy" targeting civilian infrastructure.
Myanmar’s foreign ministry rejected the IIMM report on Sunday, insisting that its operations were in response to insurgents and terrorist groups. The ministry maintained that it uses maximum restraint to avoid civilian harm, a claim that stands in contrast to the latest reports from the monastery strike.
