Myanmar Monastery Attack Kills 22 as Junta, Insurgents Blame Each Other for Massacre

Wed Mar 15 2023
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ISLAMABAD: At least 22 people, including three monks, were killed at a monastery in Southern Shan State of Myanmar on Saturday as local insurgent groups and the military-backed junta blamed each other for committing the massacre.

Since Min Aung Hlaing, a military leader, seized power in a 2021 coup that upturned any hope in the Southeast Asian nation of 55 million people, Myanmar has been mired in political violence.

The coup was followed by a brutal military crackdown against pro-democracy protesters that saw civilians being shot in the street, abducted in raids at night, and tortured in detention.

Myanmar military killed at least 2,900 people since coup

Junta troops have killed at least 2,900 people in Myanmar since the coup. Meanwhile, over 17,500 were arrested, most still in detention, according to the advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

In a country plagued by insurgencies for decades, the coup has also prompted a rise in conflicts between the military and a slew of resistance groups allied with long-established ethnic militias.

Resistance groups have repeatedly accused the Myanmar military of carrying out mass killings, air strikes, and war crimes against civilians in conflict zones, charges the junta denies despite mounting evidence.

The latest allegation surfaced last week in Shan State, Myanmar’s remote and mountainous northeastern region bordered by China, Laos, and Thailand.

At least 21 bodies were piled up around the Nan Nein Monastery, located in the village of Nan Nein in Pinlaung Township, according to photos and videos provided by the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF) and verified by CNN.

Many were seen wearing civilian clothing and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. There were also three bodies dressed in orange saffron robes, traditionally wore by Buddhist monks.

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