A military air strike has killed at least 14 people and wounded 20 others at a Buddhist monastery in Swel Le Oh village, Myaung township, roughly 75 kilometres west of Mandalay (Myanmar's second-largest city). More than 100 people had gathered at the site for a weeklong Buddhist Lent retreat when a fighter jet dropped two bombs on the compound. The attack highlights the ongoing toll of Myanmar's civil war — which has killed over 100,000 people and displaced more than five million since the military seized power in February 2021 — with the UN having flagged a notable escalation in aerial strikes against civilian areas in recent months.