On March 18, the military council conducted an aerial attack on a monastery in Magyi Pin Tae village, Thaung Tha Township, Mandalay Region. According to a representative from the Thaung Tha Township Public Movement Committee, two military helicopters from the Meiktila Air Base launched an attack, dropping eight bombs on the monastery compound. While the aerial assault resulted in significant damage to buildings within the monastery compound and one civilian house, fortunately, no civilian casualties were reported in the incident.
The Public Movement Committee has reported that the military council is systematically targeting civilian areas with daily air strikes. The committee has urged local residents to immediately seek shelter in bomb shelters upon hearing aircraft or helicopter sounds. The military forces have been deliberately targeting civilian areas, religious buildings, schools, and medical facilities. This pattern of attacks demonstrates the military council’s continued aggression against civilian infrastructure and religious sites, which has become increasingly common throughout the region.
In this particular incident, the bombs that struck the monastery compound caused extensive damage to various structures including the main monastery buildings, monks’ living quarters, shrine rooms, and religious artifacts. A civilian residence near the monastery was also damaged in the attack. According to local sources, these aerial attacks are being conducted in response to the activities of People’s Defense Forces in the region, with the military council deliberately targeting areas of suspected resistance activity. The military’s use of airstrikes against civilian and religious targets represents an escalation in their campaign of violence against the local population, forcing residents to live under constant threat of aerial bombardment.
