At least five civilians were killed and 23 others were injured in consecutive waves of airstrikes across Sagaing Region on Oct. 11-12, targeting civilian villages and a renowned historic Buddhist monastery in territory partially controlled by the National Unity Government (NUG).
At least three civilians were killed and 15 others were injured in Wetlet Township after the Myanmar Air Force launched 30 strikes on four villages on Monday. Wetlet is located 50 miles (80 km) east of the region’s capital Monywa.
A resident in Wetlet’s Megon village, one of the four hit by the airstrikes, told DVB on the condition of anonymity that nine, including a child, were injured.
No fighting between regime and resistance forces was reported by residents during the aerial attacks.
At least two civilians were killed and eight others were injured during three rounds of airstrikes on a Buddhist monastery compound in Shwebo Township’s Seikkhun village on Oct. 11. Shwebo is located 17-58 miles (27-93 km) north of Wetlet and northeast of Monywa.
The People’s Defence Force (PDF) in Shwebo told DVB on the condition of anonymity that the elderly and civilians displaced from their homes, who were sheltering at the monastery, were among the casualties.
The monastery was formerly presided over by the renowned Buddhist monk Mahasi Sayadaw Sobhana.
“All the memorial buildings dedicated to the late Mahasi Sayadaw, who spread Buddhism around the world, have been destroyed, leaving nothing salvageable,” a Shwebo resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
An airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in Myaung Township’s Swel Le Oh village killed 15 people on Aug. 21. Myaung is located 36 miles (57 km) southeast of Monywa.
DVB has documented at least 5,358 fatalities in 510 massacres—an incident in which at least five people were killed—committed by regime forces since March 14, 2021.
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