Myanmar Airstrike Kills Four Novices

Mizzima

Six people, including four novice monks, were killed when Myanmar’s military carried out an airstrike on a village monastery in Sagaing Region on 5 February.

Residents of Thit Say Kone village in northern Taze Township said two jet fighters struck the monastery compound at around 9:30 in the morning. One aircraft dropped bombs twice, while the second fired rockets before releasing further explosives. Shrapnel killed four young novices, a man and an elderly woman, while three others were left seriously injured.

“The monastery has no connection to the revolution,” a local man told reporters, suggesting the military may have mistaken the compound’s vehicle workshop for a clinic or hospital. “They targeted a non-military site by mistake.”

The attack adds to a grim tally of civilian casualties since the 2021 coup. According to the National Unity Government, the junta has launched 4,750 airstrikes over the past five years, killing more than 5,100 civilians.

Sagaing Region has been one of the hardest-hit areas, with villages repeatedly bombed and burned in what rights groups describe as collective punishment against communities suspected of supporting resistance forces.

The deaths of the novices have sparked fresh outrage, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of the military’s campaign. For many in Myanmar, monasteries are sacred spaces and central to community life, making the strike particularly shocking.

As the junta intensifies its use of air power, humanitarian groups warn that civilian suffering will deepen, with millions already displaced and in urgent need of aid. The tragedy in Taze Township is another reminder of the escalating crisis — and of the growing calls for international action to halt the violence.

-2026-02-09