Myanmar airstrike on monastery kills 14

A military airstrike on a monastery in central Myanmar killed 14 people, according to two rebel fighters who witnessed the attack. The incident occurred on Friday morning near Myaung township in Sagaing region when the aircraft targeted a monastery hall, killing 11 men and three women. Nway Oo Myaung, a pro-democracy rebel who assisted in clearing the bodies, stated that the victims were aged between 50 and 70, with most being older people who had entered the meditation center for three months during Buddhist Lent.

The fighter emphasized that the attack was intentional, not a mistake. A second opposition fighter, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that five of the deceased were from their village and the remaining nine from other villages. The fighter recounted that while attempting to rescue people, the aircraft attacked the monastery a second time.

Contact with the Myanmar military for comment was unavailable at the time. Myanmar's military initiated a civil war in 2021 with a coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and detained the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A UN report released last week accused the military of indiscriminate and intentional aerial attacks against civilians.