Myanmar Military Bombing Kills 14 at Monastery

The Myanmar military conducted an airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in the Sagaing region on May 23, 2024, resulting in the deaths of at least 14 civilians and injuring 30 others. The attack occurred at the Taze monastery in the Pinlebu Township, where over 100 people were gathered for a religious retreat. Local residents reported that the military dropped bombs from aircraft onto the monastery premises. The Taze monastery is a significant religious site in the Pinlebu Township, a region that has seen ongoing conflict between the military junta and resistance forces since the 2021 coup. The bombing has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights organizations and the international community, who have called for an immediate cessation of violence against civilians and religious sites. The National Unity Government (NUG), the primary opposition group to the military junta, stated that the attack was a deliberate act of terror and a violation of international humanitarian law. The NUG also reported that the military junta has intensified its aerial bombardments and ground offensives across several ethnic regions in recent months, leading to a significant increase in civilian casualties and displacement. The military junta has not yet officially commented on the incident, but state-controlled media has previously accused ethnic armed organizations and People's Defence Forces (PDFs) of using civilian areas, including religious sites, as bases for their operations. However, eyewitness accounts and reports from independent media outlets consistently indicate that the military is responsible for the vast majority of attacks on civilian infrastructure and populations. The conflict in Myanmar escalated following the February 1, 2021, military coup, which overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, widespread protests and armed resistance have emerged across the country, met with brutal repression by the military. The United Nations has repeatedly expressed grave concern over the escalating violence and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Myanmar, calling for a peaceful resolution to the crisis and accountability for human rights abuses. The bombing of the Taze monastery is the latest in a series of attacks on civilian targets, including schools, hospitals, and homes, underscoring the dire humanitarian consequences of the ongoing conflict.