Myanmar’s junta bombed a village monastery in Saw Township, Magwe Region, on Thursday morning, killing at least 14 people and injuring 30. Akyi Pan Malun village was reportedly hit by a 500-pound bomb, destroying the entire monastery and burning its grounds.
“Many people were meeting in the monastery to discuss plans to establish transport links in the township,” said a resident.
A volunteer leader assisting residents told The Irrawaddy on Friday: “We found 14 dead bodies but not all of my team members have returned yet. “Deliberately targeting civilians is a crime. We will take action against the regime one day.”
Residents expect to find more bodies in the wreckage and many people are still missing.
The monastery’s abbot was injured. Junta drones had been seen above the village in the preceding days, according to residents.
A Kyi Pan Malun is in resistance-held territory about 12km northeast of Kyaukhtu town on the Pakokku road. The area was without internet and phone connections in the days before the airstrike. Residents say internet blackouts often precede airstrikes. Mizzima reports: Myanmar junta personnel stole food and belongings from villagers and then set fire to Tanel Lokethar Village in Pale Township, Sagaing Region, on 8 May 2024.
60 junta soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militia members based in Inmahtee Village about two miles from Tanel Lokethar Village, entered Tanel Lokethar Village at about 11:00 am on 8 May. After stealing food and belongings from the villagers they set fire to the village, which caused many villagers to flee.
“After the Junta’s column raided our village, it wasn’t long before they set it ablaze. We watched the houses burning from a distance”, said a Tanel Lokethar villager who had fled during the raid.
The extent of the damage is not yet known as, at the time of reporting, the villagers had not yet returned to the village, but fires were still raging in the village at 4:00 pm on 8 May. According to members of the Pale People’s Administration, the junta soldiers and Pyu Saw Htee militia members based in Inmahtee Village periodically raid local villages for food supplies about every two months.
According to a member of Pale Township Peoples Defence Force (PDF), previously, defence forces had planted mines around Tanel Lokethar Village to deter junta forces, but they were removed in April this year due to concerns that they would kill or injure villagers or their livestock.
Another member of Pale Township PDF said: “Local resistance forces in the villages exhibit strong administrative capabilities but are weak when it comes to defence. They have refrained from planting landmines outside the village to safeguard against junta troops, likely fearing harm to residents. This reluctance led to the junta’s raid on the village, forcing its inhabitants to flee, with their homes subsequently set ablaze.”
Officials from local resistance forces in Pale Township said that PDF groups in Pale need to cooperate more to defend the township against the junta.
