At least 23 dead after airstrike on Buddhist monastery in Myanmar

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BANGKOK (AP) — An airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar ‘s central Sagaing region killed at least 23 people who were taking shelter in the compound, separate sources said Friday.

The overnight aerial attack on the monastery in Lin Ta Lu village, in Sagaing region’s Sagaing township, injured about 30 other people, of which 10 were in a critical condition, according to a member of a resistance group.

The resistance member — who spoke on condition of anonymity — told The Associated Press that 23 civilians including four children were killed after a jet fighter dropped a bomb around 1 a.m. on a building in the village’s monastery where more than 150 people from nearby villages were taking shelter to avoid fighting in the region in recent weeks.

Myanmar’s independent Democratic Voice of Burma online media reported that the death toll could be as high as 30. That could not be immediately confirmed.

The military did not immediately comment on the incident at the monastery, which is located about 35 km (20 miles) northwest of Mandalay, the country’s second largest city. In the past, the army has said it only attacks legitimate targets of war, accusing the resistance forces of being terrorists.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, triggering a civil war. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict.

The military has increasingly used airstrikes to counter opposition forces, including the armed People’s Defense Forces in Sagaing region, a stronghold of armed resistance. The resistance has no effective defense against air attacks.

The monastery attack comes weeks after hundreds of soldiers took part in an offensive with tanks and various aircraft in an area about five kilometers (three miles) from Lin Ta Lu to regain territories controlled by the resistance groups.

Thousands of people from nearby villages were displaced to the other towns and villages including Lin Ta Lu, the resistance fighter said.

Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition’s National Unity Government, told the AP that the military regime has been trying to retake areas controlled by the resistance ahead of a planned general election later this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to normalize the military’s seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control.