Myanmar Military Strike Kills Fourteen Civilians at Monastery Retreat

Fourteen civilians, among them three Buddhist monks and three children, were killed in a Myanmar military air strike on a monastery in the Sagaing Region. The attack, which a rescue worker reported involved two successive strikes, targeted individuals gathered for a meditation retreat.

The first ordnance strike on Saturday afternoon was followed by a second, impacting the same site as civilians attempted to assist the initial casualties. The monastery, situated in the town of Hsul Gone, Myaung township, was reportedly housing a significant number of people at the time.

Local resistance groups, including the People's Defence Force (PDF) and the Myaung Women Warriors, operate within the Sagaing Region. The military junta has frequently labelled these groups as "terrorists."

This incident follows the United Nations' expression of grave concern regarding the Myanmar military's escalating violence against civilians. The UN previously highlighted a similar air strike on a school in Sagaing in September 2022, which resulted in the deaths of at least eleven children.