An airstrike by Myanmar's military killed 14 people at a Buddhist monastery in the central Sagaing region, according to two opposition fighters who witnessed the aftermath. The military did not respond to a request for comment in the supplied reporting.
The attack struck a monastery hall in Myaung township at about 9 a.m. on Friday, when civilians were gathered for a meditation retreat associated with Buddhist Lent. Nway Oo Myaung, a pro-democracy fighter who helped remove bodies, said the dead were 11 men and three women aged between 50 and 70.
A second local opposition fighter, who was not named for security reasons, said five victims came from his village and nine from other communities. He reported that an aircraft returned to bomb the site again while people were trying to carry out rescue work. The accounts could not be independently verified from the evidence packet, but they agreed on the location and death toll.
The choice of site added to concerns about the exposure of civilian institutions in Myanmar's civil war. Monasteries and schools frequently serve as communal spaces, shelters or gathering points and have also appeared repeatedly in reports of aerial attacks. In this instance, the witnesses described those present as older people undertaking a three-month religious observance rather than combatants.
Myanmar's conflict began after the armed forces seized power in 2021, removed the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and detained senior civilian leaders. The coup prompted mass opposition that developed into war between the military, pro-democracy forces and multiple ethnic armed organisations. The supplied report said estimated deaths across all sides had exceeded 100,000 over five years.
A week before the monastery strike, the United Nations' Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar published findings accusing the military of deliberate and indiscriminate air attacks against civilians. Myanmar's authorities rejected that report as one-sided and based on information they considered inaccurate or unverifiable. Neither the UN findings nor the government's rebuttal independently proves the circumstances of the Myaung incident, but they show the broader dispute over military air operations and accountability.
Key facts remained unresolved, including the aircraft used, the intended target and whether any armed personnel were present nearby. No military explanation was available. The two witnesses alleged the monastery was deliberately selected, an accusation that would require further investigation.
What the supplied accounts established was a severe civilian toll at a religious compound: 14 older men and women reported dead, with rescuers allegedly exposed to a second strike. Independent access and preservation of evidence would be essential to determine responsibility and whether international humanitarian law was violated.
