An airstrike by Myanmar’s military on a Buddhist monastery in the central Sagaing region killed 14 people on Friday, according to an opposition group and a local resident.
According to a report by the Associated Press, the attack took place around 9 am in Swel Le Oh village in Myaung township, around 75 kilometres west of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
Nway Oo, a spokesperson for the Civil Defence and Security Organisation of Myaung Township (CDSOM), said 14 people, including three women, were killed and 20 others were injured.
According to Nway Oo, a jet fighter dropped a bomb inside the compound of the village monastery, where people had gathered for a week-long meditation retreat during Buddhist Lent.
A local villager, who spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity, also confirmed the reported death toll.
The villager said the fighter jet dropped two bombs about 15 minutes apart. The second bomb struck a house near the monastery, where more than 100 people were attending the retreat.
The villager, who lost a relative in the airstrike, said survivors later moved to a nearby community after burying the bodies of those killed in the attack.
The incident is the latest in a series of deadly aerial strikes in Myanmar, where the military has been fighting armed pro-democracy groups and ethnic armed organisations. Such attacks have frequently resulted in civilian casualties.
The latest attack adds to the continuing violence in Sagaing, one of the regions deeply affected by Myanmar’s ongoing conflict.
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