Myanmar: 23 killed, around 30 injured after airstrike on Buddhist monastery

By FnF Correspondent | PUBLISHED: 12, Jul 2025, 11:27 am IST | UPDATED: 14, Jul 2025, 6:25 am IST

At least 23 civilians, including four children, lost their lives in a devastating airstrike carried out by Myanmar's military on a Buddhist monastery in the central Sagaing region, the Associated Press reported citing multiple sources. The tragic attack occurred in the early hours of Friday (local time) in Lin Ta Lu village, located in Sagaing township, where more than 150 people had taken refuge to escape ongoing conflict in the area. The overnight strike also left about 30 people injured, with at least 10 reported to be in critical condition.

Airstrike hits shelter at monastery

According to a member of a local resistance group, a military jet dropped a bomb around 1 am on a building within the monastery compound. The structure was being used as a shelter by displaced villagers caught in the crossfire of recent clashes. The resistance member emphasised that all those killed were civilians seeking protection, and the incident marks yet another deadly episode in the ongoing humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar since the military seized power in 2021.

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 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's ongoing civil war

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 Defence Forces in Sagaing region, a stronghold of armed resistance. The resistance has no effective defence against air attacks.

Military offensive displaces thousands

The monastery attack comes weeks after hundreds of soldiers took part in an offensive with tanks and various aircraft in an area about five kilometres from Lin Ta Lu to regain territories controlled by the resistance groups. Thousands of people from nearby villages were displaced to 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 media 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 normalise the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control.