Myanmar military airstrike kills 14 at Buddhist monastery during meditation retreat

On August 21, 2026, a Myanmar military airstrike targeted a Buddhist monastery in Swel Le Oh village, Sagaing region, killing 14 elderly worshippers and injuring 20 others during a meditation retreat. A fighter jet dropped two bombs 15 minutes apart on the compound where over 100 civilians had gathered. This attack aligns with UN findings of an escalating military campaign of deliberate airstrikes on civilian areas, amid a broader civil war that has displaced 5.2 million people since the 2021 coup.

Myaung monastery airstrike

• ▪A Myanmar military airstrike on a Buddhist monastery in Swel Le Oh village, Myaung township, killed 14 people and injured 20 others on August 21, 2026
• ▪The 14 victims killed in the Swel Le Oh monastery airstrike included 11 men and three women, with the deceased reported to be elderly individuals aged between 50 and 70
• ▪A military fighter jet dropped two bombs 15 minutes apart on the Swel Le Oh village monastery compound, where over 100 people were attending a week-long Buddhist Lent meditation retreat

Myanmar civil war context

• ▪Myanmar has been locked in a civil war since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021
• ▪The Council on Foreign Relations estimates that the Myanmar civil war has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced 5.2 million people
• ▪Resistance forces and ethnic armies control approximately 42 percent of Myanmar, while the military government controls about 21 percent

Military airstrikes on civilians

• ▪The Myanmar military has increasingly utilized aerial strikes to target armed pro-democracy forces and ethnic armed groups, frequently causing civilian casualties
• ▪The Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected allegations of targeting civilians, stating that limited airstrikes and counterterrorism operations solely target insurgents and terrorist groups

UN investigation findings

• ▪The UN-established Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar reported a notable escalation in military aerial attacks preceding the December and January elections, which continued unabated afterward
• ▪The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar's annual report, covering July 2025 to June 2026, concluded that Myanmar's military has conducted a sustained campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians

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