Airstrike On Buddhist Monastery In Myanmar Kills At Least 23, Including 4 Children
An airstrike by the Myanmar military on a Buddhist monastery in central Myanmar killed at least 23 civilians, including four children. The deadly attack occurred early Thursday in Lin Ta Lu village, Sagaing township, a resistance stronghold about 35 kilometres northwest of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city. The strike hit at around 1 am, targeting a monastery where more than 150 people had taken shelter from ongoing military operations in the region, Associated Press (AP) reported.
'Twenty-three civilians, including four children, were killed. About 30 others were injured. Ten of them are in critical condition," a unnamed member of a local resistance group told AP.
The Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent news outlet, cited a higher death toll of up to 30, though that number has not been independently confirmed. The Myanmar military has not issued a statement on the strike.
The monastery strike is the latest in a series of increasingly aggressive military actions in Sagaing region, a key hub for anti-junta resistance and comes at a time when the military has recently launched a large-scale offensive in the area, deploying tanks and aircraft in an attempt to retake territory from local opposition groups.
Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition National Unity Government, said, 'The regime wants to show strength before the vote, which they hope will help them stay in power," referring to national elections that the Myanmar junta is planning for later this year.
The February 2021 coup, which ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, triggered a widespread pro-democracy uprising and a brutal military crackdown. Since then, armed resistance has escalated across much of the country, particularly in Sagaing, where civilians and community militias have been active in opposing military control.
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