Fourteen Killed in Myanmar Monastery Strike

Sun Sep 06 2026 03:47:07 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Military air strike kills fourteen elderly monks in a meditation retreat, a tragic event amid Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.

A military air strike early Friday struck a monastery in Myaung township, killing fourteen elderly monks and injuring others. The attack, reported at 09:00 local time, hit twice, leaving victims aged 50 to 70. Opposition fighters and a local rescue worker confirm the death toll amid the country’s civil war that began after the 2021 coup. The military has not responded, but it remains embroiled in accusations of targeting civilian sites.

Fourteen people were killed in military air strikes at a monastery in Myanmar early on Friday, opposition fighters and a local rescue worker have said.

All those killed were elderly, and several monks were injured, the rescue worker told BBC Burmese, adding that the site was struck twice.

The attack happened at around 09:00 local time in Myaung township in the central Sagaing region, some 70km west of Mandalay, the news agency AFP reported.

Civilians had reportedly gathered at the site for a meditation retreat to mark Buddhist Lent. Myanmar’s military has not commented.

Nway Oo Myaung, a pro‑democracy rebel, told AFP that the victims included 11 men and three women. Five were from one village, the remaining nine from a neighbouring township.

"Older people had entered the meditation centres," Myaung added, saying the dead were aged between 50 and 70.

An unnamed opposition fighter said he had been among those searching for survivors. "While we were trying to rescue people, the aircraft came to bomb a second time," he said.

Myanmar has been locked in civil war since the military staged a 2021 coup ousting Aung San Suu Kyi, and has been under martial rule since. The military, frequently accused of striking public buildings, says it only targets legitimate targets.