Clashes, bombing displace over 1,000 Buddhist monks, nuns in Sagaing Region

Fighting has forced more than 1,000 Buddhist monks and nuns to flee their monasteries and convents since mid-March in the Min Kun Hills in Sagaing Township in the region of the same name, local sources said. More than 100 monks preparing to sit exams in the Tipitaka—also known as the Pali Canon—as well as 400 more monks housed in various and over 600 nuns from at least 40 convents have been displaced along with local civilians, a craftsman in his 50s from Min Kun told Myanmar Now.The Min Kun Hills area is known as the home of many Buddhist monasteries, convents, temples, and historic sites.“At Momeik Kone Myay, where monks were preparing for Tipitaka exams, only four or five remain now. Everyone has fled the entire Min Kun Hills area. Some monasteries are completely empty. About 95 percent of Min Kun’s inhabitants have fled,” he said.The junta’s airstrikes, shelling and gunfire from the river, and raids by ground troops are the main causes of the mass exodus.“They're running because they fear airstrikes and random shooting from the river. Soldiers are stationed on island villages and often fire their guns across the river. The shots can hit anywhere,” he said.Min Kun and its surroundings on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River are known for their local attractions, including pre-colonial temples, distinctive handicraft styles, and the famous Min Kun temple bell, which drew both international and domestic tourism before the 2021 military coup.Since the coup, the military has stationed troops near Min Kun Pahtodawgyi temple site and Myatheintan (or Hsinbyume) Pagoda, and soldiers have been accused of detaining and torturing local civilians.Soldiers have also repeatedly fired artillery from their positions near the Myatheintan Pagoda and the Kin Kun police station. One barrage killed a local woman on March 20. Due to its history as a religious sanctuary that even British forces during the Second World War refrained from attacking, Min Kun was believed to be a haven from conflict and has served as a refuge for the displaced from various parts of the country. People throughout Myanmar who are aware of this history have vocally condemned the junta’s attacks on social media. Resistance forces temporarily closed the Sagaing-Min Kun Road amid the ongoing violence for safety reasons.Attacks on junta forces by resistance guerrillas have grown more frequent around Min Kun, and full-scale attacks have been ongoing since the middle of March.Junta airstrikes hit an area near Wetlet about 15 miles north of Min Kun on March 16, killing four people including an infant. Three days later, the air force carried out more attacks around the Myatheintan Pagoda on the north side of Min Kun. These strikes caused no reported casualties, but damaged zinc roofs at a shrine and monastery west of the Min Kun Pahtodawgyi temple site, as well as striking close to other religious buildings near Manawmaya Hill.With clashes often breaking out between junta forces and resistance groups, it is no longer safe for tourists to visit the Min Kun area.“The villages at the foot of Myatheintan are completely gone. They burned them down,” a local resident said, referring to the junta. The inhabitants of most villages on the riverbank near Min Kun depended on tourists for their livelihoods. Adding to the economic hardship, junta troop movements and nearby battles have induced thousands of civilians to abandon the area, according to reports.“The villages that depended on tourists haven’t had any visitors for about two years,” the same local resident said. “Everyone is suffering.”Civilians crossing the river to escape the fighting in Min Kun have to undergo inspections and risk arrest by junta troops at Mandalay’s riverport, while others taking the southbound route to the town of Sagaing are also at risk of arrest if they are unable to pay extortionate bribes at the Sagaing Bridge checkpoint. Soldiers near a military truck parked on the Sagaing Bridge in the town of Sagaing in October 2021 (Photo: AFP) This leaves the northwestern route to Wetlet, Sagaing Region as the only relatively safe option, according to a leader of the resistance group Pyin Oo Lwin District People’s Defense Organisation (PDO). “People from Min Kun mostly flee to the west. When they flee westward, they reach liberated areas,” he said, referring to territories held by resistance forces.The Pyin Oo Lwin District PDO is one of many such armed organisations around the country commanded by the defence ministry of the publicly mandated National Unity Government (NUG). Its members are involved in assisting internally displaced people. Other resistance groups, including Road to Mandalay, Unicorn Force, Min Kun Area PDO, and Acid Group are also operating in the Min Kun area. A resistance source confirmed on Thursday that battles are ongoing between resistance forces and junta troops. “Battles are still happening intermittently. They have reinforced their troops in the places where they’ve established bases. Our side continues to blockade them,” a resistance source said.

Clashes, bombing displace over 1,000 Buddhist monks, nuns in Sagaing Region

Hundreds of Buddhist monks and nuns, including some studying for exams on the Pali Canon, have been displaced by recent fighting, according to local sources

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