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🇫🇷 France /Conflict & Security

Myanmar army airstrike kills 14 at monastery

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • An airstrike by the Myanmar army on a monastery in Myaung killed 14 civilians during a meditation retreat.
  • The victims, aged 50 to 70, were participating in a traditional Buddhist lenten observance.
  • The attack occurred near Myaung in central Myanmar, with witnesses reporting a second bombing run as rescuers arrived.

Fourteen civilians were killed in an airstrike carried out by the Myanmar army on a monastery in the central Myaung region. The victims were reportedly gathered at the monastery for a meditation retreat during the traditional Buddhist lenten period.

As is our tradition for the Buddhist lenten period, elderly people had entered for three months to the meditation center.

— Nway Oo MyaungExplaining the presence of the victims at the monastery during the time of the attack.

Two witnesses who visited the site after the attack confirmed the death toll, stating that 11 men and three women, all between the ages of 50 and 70, perished in the strike. Nway Oo Myaung, a pro-democracy rebel involved in the evacuation of bodies, described the victims as elderly individuals who had entered the meditation center for a three-month observance.

The victims were between 50 and 70 years old.

— Nway Oo MyaungProviding details about the age range of those killed in the airstrike.

One local fighter, speaking anonymously for security reasons, corroborated the casualty figures and added a chilling detail: the aircraft returned to bomb the area a second time while rescuers were attempting to help the injured. The Myanmar army has not yet commented on the incident.

It was not a mistake of targeting, they intentionally attacked a monastery.

— Nway Oo MyaungAsserting that the attack on the monastery was deliberate.

This attack occurs amidst a broader civil war in Myanmar, which has claimed over 100,000 lives since the military coup in 2021. A recent UN report accused the military of intensifying its aerial attacks against civilians, highlighting a disturbing pattern of violence.

Five of the dead came from our village, and the other nine from neighboring villages.

— Local fighterDetailing the origin of the victims from the local community.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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