At least 14 civilians were killed on Friday when Myanmar's military carried out air strikes on a monastery in the central Sagaing region, according to opposition fighters and a local rescue worker. The attack took place at around 09:00 local time in Myaung township, roughly 70 kilometres west of Mandalay, and struck a site where elderly civilians had gathered for a meditation retreat marking the start of Buddhist Lent — a three-month period of religious observance. Myanmar's military has not commented on the incident.

All of those killed were elderly, aged between 50 and 70, and included 11 men and three women. Five victims were from a single village, while the remaining nine came from a neighbouring township. A number of monks were also reported injured. Adding to the toll, opposition fighters said the monastery was struck a second time while rescuers were searching the rubble for survivors. "While we were trying to rescue people, the aircraft came to bomb a second time," one fighter recounted.

The strike takes place against the backdrop of a civil war that has engulfed Myanmar since the military staged a coup in February 2021, ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and placing the country under martial rule. The conflict has claimed more than 100,000 lives. In April 2026, the military's commander Min Aung Hlaing assumed the presidency following elections widely condemned as fraudulent, yet fighting has continued with undiminished intensity against pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups.

The attack draws renewed attention to a report published last week by the United Nations' Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which accused the military of conducting deliberate and systematic strikes on civilian targets, including residential areas, schools, and camps for displaced people. UN investigators also documented arbitrary detention and sexual torture. The Myanmar government has rejected these accusations, while Min Aung Hlaing has pursued a diplomatic campaign in recent months, visiting India, China, Laos, Thailand, and Russia in what observers have described as a bid to rehabilitate his international standing.

The military has previously maintained that it strikes only legitimate military targets. Rights groups and opposition sources, however, have long documented a pattern of attacks on public and religious buildings. The monastery strike underscores the persistent danger faced by civilians in areas of the country beyond the government's firm control, particularly in Sagaing — a region that has seen some of the heaviest fighting since the coup.