At least 14 people have died after a military airstrike struck a Buddhist monastery in central Myanmar, according to local witnesses and opposition groups. The attack, carried out on Friday in Swel Le Oh village, Sagaing region, is the latest in a string of deadly assaults by the junta since seizing power in 2021. The monastery, located about 75 kilometres west of Mandalay, was hosting a meditation retreat for Buddhist Lent when a fighter jet dropped bombs in two waves. Survivors said the dormitories for meditators were hit directly, killing 11 men and three women, most of them elderly. More than 20 others were injured, some seriously, and rushed to hospital. Local residents described scenes of devastation, with debris scattered across the compound. One villager told reporters that the second strike damaged nearby homes. “It wasn’t a mistaken target; they intentionally attacked a monastery,” said Ko Nway Oo of the Civil Defense and Security Organization of Myaung Township, who is assisting survivors. The military has not confirmed the strike. It has frequently used air power against resistance strongholds in Sagaing, where pro‑democracy militias and ethnic armed groups have mounted fierce opposition. The attack follows another air raid in Myaung earlier in the week that killed two volunteer teachers, and drone strikes in Ayadaw Township that left one dead and 11 injured. UN warns of rising aerial attacksThe United Nations’ Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar reported last week a sharp increase in airstrikes over the past year, accusing the junta of “indiscriminate and intentional” attacks on civilians. Conflict monitor ACLED has described the military’s approach as a “terror strategy”, deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure and gatherings to spread fear. Myanmar’s foreign ministry has rejected these accusations, insisting its operations are aimed at insurgents and that it exercises restraint to avoid civilian casualties. Yet Friday’s strike on a religious retreat underscores the growing toll on non‑combatants. A nation still in turmoilThe military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, ending a decade‑long experiment with democracy. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, remains under house arrest after receiving lengthy prison sentences on charges widely seen as politically motivated. Sagaing has become one of the bloodiest theatres of the conflict, with villages repeatedly bombed and thousands displaced. The monastery attack highlights the vulnerability of civilians caught between the junta’s firepower and the resistance’s struggle. As funerals are held for the victims, the question remains whether international pressure can curb the military’s reliance on airstrikes. For now, Myanmar’s civil war shows no sign of abating, and ordinary citizens continue to pay the highest price. -2025-08-23
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