Buddhist monk, four others, killed by Myanmar junta airstrike in Sagaing

At least five civilians were killed when two Buddhist monasteries were targeted by junta airstrikes in Depayin and Wetlet townships in Sagaing Region on Monday, according to local sources. Most of the casualties were reported in Mu Kan Gyi, a large village about 30 miles southeast of the town of Depayin. At least a dozen others were also injured, sources there said. Residents told Myanmar Now that a Buddhist monk was among those killed in the attack, which took place shortly after 1:30pm. “When the aircraft came, those who could run and flee escaped, but those who couldn’t were all hit,” said a local woman. A man living in the area said that two bombs were dropped on the monastery, leaving it and several nearby houses in ruins. “They mainly targeted the monastery. Other areas weren’t hit,” he said. “All three main buildings of the monastery were completely destroyed,” said Bo Thatti, commander of a local resistance group. Mu Kan Gyi is a large village and major trading centre in Depayin Township. Located on the banks of the Mu River, it suffered extensive damage in August 2022, when it was raided by junta troops who set fire to hundreds of houses. Three years later, the village has yet to recover from the attacks. “Everyone is living in their homes under corrugated tin or palm leaf roofs. When troops advance, we flee, then return to our little homes—that’s all we can do,” said another local woman. Several hours earlier, the junta targeted another monastery in neighbouring Wetlet Township, injuring three people, including a monk in his 70s. Parts of shells that exploded in Nabepinhla on August 18 (Photo: Wetlet Information Network) The monastery, located in Nabepinhla, a village about seven miles southeast of the town of Wetlet, was hit twice beginning at around 9:50am, according to a local resident. “The first time they fired a couple of rockets. The second time they strafed with machine guns,” the local said. The other two victims were identified as a woman in her 70s and an 11-year-old boy. There had been no clashes near Nabepinhla prior to the attack, but the regime has increased its military presence in Wetlet over the past month. In June 2023, junta arson attacks destroyed more than 100 houses in the village. The junta has been trying to regain control of Wetlet Township as part of its offensive in Singu and Mogok townships, located on the opposite side of the Ayeyarwady River in Mandalay Region. The junta’s aerial assaults on riverside villages in Wetlet Township have killed or injured at least a dozen civilians since early July, according to local sources. In Mogok, which is under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), airstrikes by Myanmar’s military have killed around 40 people over the same period. On Monday, an air raid on Hsipaw, a town in northern Shan State that is also under the control of the TNLA, left two women and a man injured, sources there reported. Airstrikes killed at least 28 people in Mandalay Region and Chin and Karenni states on Sunday. The military routinely targets schools, hospitals, and monasteries in its attacks, claiming that they are used by resistance forces as hiding places. However, most of the victims of the attacks are civilians displaced by fighting. The regime, which has declared that it will hold elections by the end of this year, has declared martial law in 63 townships across Myanmar, including Depayin, Wetlet, Tigyaing, Kawlin, Pinlebu, Khin-U, Kani, Pale, and Indaw townships in Sagaing Region.

Buddhist monk, four others, killed by Myanmar junta airstrike in Sagaing

The victims died during attacks on two monasteries in Sagaing Region’s Wetlet and Depayin townships on Monday

Subscribe for full access

‘Be back by 7’: For Yangon’s young, a life ruled by a self-enforced curfew

Myanmar’s military is regaining ground, costing the resistance key connections

Myanmar charity worker who built a lifeline for the poor loses it all after military coup

Fear grips Mandalay as junta-backed militias and kidnappers prey on residents

Subscribe for full access

Related Articles

Myanmar junta attacks kill 12, including infant, across 4 Rakhine townships

Myanmar junta bombs religious ceremony; kills own POWs in Chin State

ASEAN envoy ends Myanmar trip with no public Suu Kyi meeting

Myanmar junta launches arson spree in Sagaing after colonel’s killing