Myanmar military airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in Sagaing kills 14 people.
The attack wounds 20 people attending a week-long meditation retreat.
Two bombs were dropped 15 minutes apart, according to a local resident.
A Myanmar military airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in the central Sagaing region killed 14 people taking part in a week-long meditation retreat on Friday, according to an opposition group and a resident.
The attack in Swel Le Oh village in Myaung township also wounded 20 people, including three women among those killed. The attack is the latest in a series of frequent and deadly aerial strikes targeting armed pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups in the country, according to Associated Press. The strikes often cause civilian casualties.
The attack took place at about 9 a.m. on Friday, August 21, in the village located about 75 kilometres (45 miles) west of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. Nway Oo, a spokesperson for the Civil Defence and Security Organization of Myaung Township (CDSOM), said a jet fighter dropped a bomb in the compound of the village monastery.
Nway Oo said 14 people, including three women, were killed and 20 others were wounded. More than 100 people were taking part in a week-long meditation retreat during Buddhist Lent.
A villager who spoke on condition of anonymity also confirmed the death toll to Associated Press. The villager said the jet fighter dropped two bombs 15 minutes apart, with the second bomb damaging a house near the monastery.
The villager, who lost a relative in the airstrike, said people fled to a nearby community after burying the bodies of the victims.
The attack comes amid frequent and deadly aerial strikes by Myanmar’s military against armed pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups in the country, according to Associated Press. The strikes often cause civilian casualties.
