More than 20 civilians killed in Myanmar air strike on monastery: witnesses

More than 20 civilians, including children, were killed aft a caller aerial onslaught connected a monastery successful cardinal Myanmar, an anti-junta combatant and a nonmigratory told AFP connected Saturday (July 11, 2025).

Myanmar has been consumed by civilian warfare since the subject ousted a antiauthoritarian authorities successful 2021, and cardinal Sagaing portion has been peculiarly hard-hit, with the junta pummelling villages with aerial strikes targeting equipped groups.

The astir caller occurred astir 1:00 a.m. Friday successful Lin Ta Lu village, erstwhile "the monastery hallway wherever internally displaced radical were staying" was deed with an aerial strike, said an anti-junta fighter, who requested anonymity for information reasons.

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He told AFP that 22 radical were killed, including 3 children, portion 2 were wounded and remained successful captious information astatine the hospital.

"They had thought it was harmless to enactment astatine a Buddhist monastery," the anti-junta combatant said. "But they were bombed anyway."

Junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun did not instantly respond to AFP's petition for comment.

A section nonmigratory confirmed that the monastery hallway was "completely destroyed", adding that helium saw immoderate bodies loaded into a car and transported to a cemetery astatine dawn connected Friday aft the aerial strike.

He said erstwhile helium went to the cemetery to instrumentality photos to assistance with identifying the dead, helium counted 22 bodies.

"Many of the bodies had caput wounds oregon were torn apart. It was bittersweet to see," said the resident, who besides asked to stay anonymous.

Sagaing portion was the epicentre of a devastating magnitude-7.7 quake successful March, which near astir 3,800 radical dormant and tens of thousands homeless.

After the quake, determination was a purported truce betwixt the junta and equipped groups, but aerial strikes and warring person continued, according to struggle monitors.

In May, an aerial onslaught connected a schoolhouse successful the colony of Oe Htein Kwin successful Sagaing killed 20 students and 2 teachers.