Sagaing, MINA – The Myanmar military has carried out an airstrike on Lintelo Village in Sagaing Township, 20 km southwest of Mandalay, targeting a monastery sheltering refugees.
Twenty-eight civilians, including children and women, were killed in the airstrike, which occurred around midnight on Friday, the Arakan News Agency (ANA) reported.
A source from a local resistance group stated that military aircraft dropped bombs twice on the monastery, which was housing displaced people from conflict areas.
The unnamed source anticipates a rise in the death toll due to the large number of injured, noting that most of the victims were refugees from Kyaw Ziya Village, as reported by Khitt Thit Media.
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The source added that the injured sustained severe wounds amidst a critical shortage of medicine and medical personnel, making it difficult to provide adequate medical care.
This escalation comes amid ongoing attacks by the rebel People’s Defense Force (PDF) on both banks of the Irrawaddy River.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the 2021 military coup that overthrew the government, sparking conflict and civil war in which civilians have been victims. This has resulted in approximately 3.5 million displaced people, with tens of thousands killed, injured, and arrested.
The United Nations estimates that around 20 million people, roughly one-third of the population, will require humanitarian assistance by 2025. [Shibgho]
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