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

The junta conducted a drone strike on a monastery during a recitation ceremony on Friday morning in Chaung-U Township, Sagaing Region, as well as targeted airstrikes on prisoner of war camps in Chin State earlier this week, according to residents and resistance forces. On Friday morning, two suicide drones from the junta’s Monywa-based Northwestern Regional Military Command bombed a monastery hosting a Buddhist Paṭṭhāna scripture recitation ceremony in Taw Kyaung Lay village, Chaung-U Township, severely injuring a 56-year-old monk. A Taw Kyaung Lay resident said that the drone strikes occurred just minutes apart on a monastery building about 100 meters from the hall where monks were reciting, striking shortly after midnight. The recitation ceremony was scheduled to run continually for five days starting from Thursday, but the airstrike forced it to end the next morning. “The monk who was reciting continued at first. But when he heard that another monk had been injured, he stopped too. They're already taking down the curtains now,” the resident said. There were about 60 people at the monastery at the time of the attack, including resident and visiting monks, novice monks, and local residents preparing food and offerings, they added. The local resident said there were no resistance bases or junta activity in the village. They believed the monastery was specifically targeted while the religious ceremony was underway. “There were only elderly people there. There were no gatherings of any armed groups. No PDFs were gathered there either. It was purely a religious event. What has happened is absolutely disgraceful,” he said. Taw Kyaung Lay, located about eight miles from Chaung-U, has previously been the target of regime gyrocopter attacks, and repeated arson attacks destroyed about 250 houses—one-third of the village. In late August, the junta bombed a meditation centre in Myaung Township, also in Sagaing Region, killing at least 12 people and injuring many others. Since the beginning of this year, following military-controlled elections, the regime has intensified airstrikes across the country, repeatedly targeting civilian infrastructure, including monasteries, schools, markets and villages. Buildings destroyed by a junta airstrike on Mindat town, Chin State, on October 29 (Photo: Hkl) Regime bombs own POWs in Chin In northern Chin State's Hakha Township, the military carried out airstrikes on prisoner of war camps on Wednesday and Thursday, killing and injuring junta prisoners of war, according to local resistance forces. Salai Nai John Kim, a spokesperson for the Chinland Council’s defence ministry, confirmed that a junta airstrike on a prisoner-of-war camp on Wednesday night killed 10 of their own detained regime soldiers and injured five others. The junta soldiers killed in the strike were captured during battles in Hakha, according to the spokesperson. “It could be due to informant tips. Also, we assess that [the junta] killed these prisoners to prevent internal information leaks,” he said. The junta carried out another attack the following night on a former prisoner-of-war camp in Hakha Township, but as the camp was no longer in use, there were no casualties. In mid-2025, the junta launched a large-scale offensive in northern Chin State, retaking most major towns from the resistance, with the exception of Rihkhawdar on the India-Myanmar border. In southern Chin State, resistance forces are currently fighting to retain control over Kanpetlet and Mindat from four advancing junta columns advancing from Magway Region. The regime has also conducted repeated airstrikes on Mindat town from Thursday, damaging at least 10 houses, according to local residents. Myanmar Now contacted Aung Zaw Oo, the junta-appointed Sagaing Region spokesperson, to ask about the monastery attack but did not receive a response. The junta’s Chin State spokesperson, Nay Lin Aung, responded that he was travelling and did not have complete information about the situation. According to figures released by the National Unity Government, junta airstrikes in September killed 187 civilians, including 22 children, and destroyed over 200 homes, 15 schools, 22 medical facilities and three religious buildings.

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

The regime’s airstrike in Sagaing Region injured a monk and forced the cancellation of a Paṭṭhāna scripture recitation in what locals say was a targeted attack

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