SAC Airstrikes on Monasteries in Nawnghkio and Pharsaung

The military carried out airstrikes on monasteries in Naung Cho and Pharsaung townships, destroying and setting them on fire.

A junta fighter jet dropped two bombs on Lauk Phan village, Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State, at around 9.30 pm on Thursday, killing an elderly woman and severely wounding four other villagers, including a child, according to residents.

According to statements from resistance forces and local residents, the military launched drone and airstrikes on monasteries in Nawnghkio Township, Shan State, and Pharsaung Township, Karenni State, resulting in the destruction and burning of the monasteries.

At 10:30 AM today, February 21, the military council forces used drones to drop four bombs on a monastery in Umtai Village, Nawnghkio Township, causing extensive damage and fires in the monastery buildings.

“Aimed bombings were carried out on the monasteries. There were no military activities in that area,” a local news source from Nawnghkio stated.

Similarly, at 3:00 PM on February 20, a monastery in Wan Aung Village, Pharsaung Township, Karenni State, was bombed by military aircraft, leading to the destruction of the monastery and its associated buildings.

It was reported that at the time of the airstrike, there were no ongoing battles in Pharsaung Township, but the military still carried out the bombings.

Myanmar junta airstrikes have reportedly killed at least 53 civilians and injured around 80 others in 10 days.

Fighter jets, Y12 airplanes, helicopters and motorized paragliders have conducted at least 35 attacks on targets, including schools, displacement camps, hospitals and religious sites.

Nawnghkio is among northern Shan State towns under the control of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA). Despite engaging in China-brokered peace talks with the ethnic armed group in Kunming, the junta has continued bombing TNLA-controlled territory, killing numerous civilians. On Wednesday night, a junta airstrike on houses and a public hospital in Nawnghkio killed three civilians.