Myanmar military airstrike on Buddhist monastery kills 14 during meditation retreat

Strike on a Buddhist monastery retreat

A Myanmar military jet carried out an aerial attack on a Buddhist monastery in Swel Le Oh village in Myaung township, located in the central Sagaing region, on Friday, 21 August 2026. The bombing occurred at approximately 9:00 a.m. local time (02:30 GMT), roughly 75 kilometres west of Mandalay. More than 100 people were gathered at the site for a weeklong meditation retreat held in observance of Buddhist Lent. Munitions struck accommodations and communal buildings in the monastery compound, killing 14 people and wounding at least 20 others. Casualty records identified 11 men and three women among the fatalities, with one resident confirming his mother-in-law was killed. Surviving participants and villagers cremated the victims and fled to a nearby community to escape further strikes.

Double bombing during rescue efforts

Eyewitnesses and opposition fighters reported that the military aircraft delivered two separate bomb strikes roughly 15 minutes apart. The first blast detonated inside the monastery grounds, while the second struck an adjacent house as survivors rushed to pull victims from the debris. Nway Oo, a spokesperson for the Civil Defence and Security Organization of Myaung Township (CDSOM), noted that five of the deceased were residents of Swel Le Oh, while nine had travelled from surrounding villages. While CDSOM confirmed 14 fatalities, the BBC Burmese Service and local outlet Myanmar Now cited death tolls between 10 and 14. An opposition fighter who assisted in recovering bodies described the hazard during the rescue.

While we were trying to save the people, the plane arrived to bomb a second time.

Aerial bombardment and international scrutiny

Myanmar military authorities did not immediately comment on the strike, though the junta maintains that its operations target only armed combatants whom it classifies as terrorists. Resistance groups in Sagaing, including People's Defence Forces, lack effective air defence systems, leaving civilian communities exposed to aerial attacks. The United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) reported in August that it observed an escalation in military airstrikes preceding elections held in December and January, with strikes continuing afterwards. United Nations investigators accused the junta of conducting indiscriminate and intentional air attacks against civilians. The Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the findings of the IIMM on Sunday.

Five years of nationwide civil war

The strike in Sagaing reflects the ongoing conflict that began when the military seized power in a coup in February 2021, ousting the elected government. Following national elections in November 2020, the military alleged fraud, detained leaders, and violently suppressed peaceful demonstrations, prompting opponents to take up arms. The junta subsequently conducted executions of political opponents, artists, and critics, the first carried out in Myanmar since the 1980s. Aung San Suu Kyi, the 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former State Counsellor, was moved to house arrest in April 2026. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the war has killed over 100,000 people and displaced 5.2 million, with resistance forces controlling an estimated 42% of the country compared to 21% held by the military.