Myanmar air strike kills 14 praying at monastery, rebel witnesses say

A Myanmar military airstrike on a monastery where civilians were gathered for a Buddhist Lent meditation retreat resulted in 14 deaths, according to two rebel witnesses. Myanmar has been embroiled in civil war since a 2021 coup ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Over 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the conflict over the past five years as the military fights various pro-democracy and ethnic minority rebels.

On Friday morning at 9:00am, the airstrike hit a monastery hall in Myaung township of central Sagaing region, killing 11 men and three women, as reported by Nway Oo Myaung, a pro-democracy rebel who assisted in cleaning up the bodies. The victims, aged between 50 and 70, were described as being elderly. Nway Oo Myaung added that the airstrike was not a mistake but an intentional attack on a monastery.

A second local opposition fighter, speaking anonymously, stated that five of the victims came from their village, while the remaining nine were from other villages. They reported that the aircraft targeted the monastery twice, first attempting to rescue survivors before striking again.

The Myanmar military often utilizes jets supplied by China and Russia to combat rebels, according to analysts. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) recently released a report accusing the military of "indiscriminate and intentional aerial attacks against civilians." UN investigators have highlighted that public buildings, frequently monasteries and schools, are frequent targets of these air strikes.

Despite five years of martial law, Myanmar's military held elections at the beginning of 2026, positioning them as a return to normalcy. However, the IIMM report acknowledged an increase in aerial attacks leading up to the elections. Democracy watchdogs dismissed the vote as a sham, as it excluded the popular Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, penalizing dissenters with imprisonment.

The coup leader, Min Aung Hlaing, assumed the role of civilian president in April, currently striving to reverse Myanmar's post-coup isolation by engaging in diplomatic efforts to garner recognition from countries such as India, China, Laos, and Thailand.