According to a statement from an official of the Thaung Tha Township People’s Movement Committee, buildings within a monastery compound in Magyi Pin Tae village, Thaung Tha Township, Mandalay Region, were damaged following an aerial bombardment by the military council’s forces using helicopter gunships. The attack occurred in the morning of March 18, when two helicopters from the Meiktila Air Base conducted the bombing, dropping eight bombs on the area, as confirmed by the official.
While the attack resulted in damage to several buildings within the monastery compound and one civilian house, fortunately, no civilian casualties were reported. The People’s Movement Committee has issued warnings to local residents to immediately seek shelter in bomb bunkers upon hearing aircraft or helicopter sounds, as the military council continues to conduct daily aerial attacks deliberately targeting civilian populations.
Local residents point out that the military council forces are deliberately targeting religious buildings to inflict psychological trauma and intimidate the civilian population, noting that such intentional attacks on monasteries constitute war crimes. The ongoing aerial attacks by military council forces have left local residents living in constant fear, disrupting their daily lives and normal activities. The systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure, including religious buildings, demonstrates the military council’s continued use of terror tactics against its own people.
