A Myanmar military airstrike killed 14 people at a Buddhist monastery in central Myanmar, according to an opposition group and a local resident.
The incident occurred in Swel Le Oh village, in Myaung township, about 75 kilometers west of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. Nway Oo, spokesman for the Civil Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM), said a fighter jet dropped bombs on the monastery grounds, killing 14 people, including three women, and wounding 20 others.
A villager, who requested anonymity, told The Associated Press that more than 100 people were inside and around the monastery attending a week-long retreat marking the beginning of Buddhist Lent. The villager confirmed the death toll of 14 reported by CDSOM and said his mother-in-law was killed in the attack. According to the account, the plane dropped two bombs on the village, about 15 minutes apart.
Burmese-language BBC and local media reported death tolls ranging from 10 to 14. Myanmar's military has not commented on the airstrike, but has previously said it targets only legitimate targets.
Myanmar has been embroiled in an almost nationwide civil war since the military overthrew the democratically elected government in February 2021. After the junta brutally suppressed peaceful protests, many opponents took up arms. Anti-government forces include numerous armed groups divided along ethnic or political lines, some of which have existed for decades.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 81, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy activist who served as Myanmar's State Counsellor (equivalent to prime minister), has been detained since the military seized power in 2021. In April, she was moved from prison to house arrest.
According to the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations, the war has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced 5.2 million. Resistance forces and ethnic armies now control about 42% of the country's territory, while the military government controls only 21%.
Myaung township is in Sagaing Region, an area considered a stronghold of armed resistance to the military government.
The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), established by the United Nations, said in August that it had recorded a significant increase in airstrikes ahead of elections held in December and January, and that this trend continued afterward. Myanmar's foreign ministry rejected the IIMM's report, saying the military targets only “terrorists” and that security forces exercise maximum restraint to avoid civilian casualties.
