Bangkok, Aug 21: An airstrike Friday by Myanmar’s military on a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region killed 14 people who were taking part in a week-long mediation retreat, an opposition group and a resident said.
The attack is the latest in a series of frequent and deadly aerial strikes targeting armed pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups in the country. The strikes often cause civilian casualties.
The attack occurred Friday at 9 am in Swel Le Oh village in Myaung township, about 75 km west of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, according to Nway Oo, a spokesperson for the Civil Defence and Security Organisation of Myaung Township, or CDSOM.
Nway Oo said 14 people, including three women, were killed and 20 others were wounded when a jet fighter dropped a bomb in the compound of the village’s monastery.
A villager who spoke on condition of anonymity also confirmed the death toll to The Associated Press. (AP)
