Monk injured in junta airstrike on Thandwe Twsp village

By Admin 31 Oct 2024

DMG Newsroom
31 October 2024, Thandwe

A Buddhist monk was reportedly injured and several buildings were destroyed in two days of junta airstrikes on Hsingaung Village, part of Arakan State's Thandwe Township.

The regime carried out air attacks on a monastery in Hsingaung Village from October 29-30, and the monastery's abbot was severely wounded on Tuesday.

"A junta jet fighter dropped bombs on the village monastery two days in a row. The abbot sustained wounds to his body. The monastery was totally destroyed by the regime's aerial bombardment," said a local resident.

Venerable Sriteza, 58, received injuries to his head, face, neck and legs, and is receiving medical treatment.

Regime airstrikes on a school in Hsingaung Village and a Buddhist monastery in Khamaungtone Village also injured a monk on October 25.

The regime has conducted airstrikes on Hsingaung Village six times since the latest fighting between junta forces and the Arakkha Army (AA) began in November of last year, with 17 residents killed and 28 others injured in junta airstrikes and artillery attacks.

"Monasteries and schools are not places related to the military conflict, but rather are places where only those fleeing the war take refuge. The regime's targeting of monasteries and schools is completely unacceptable," said a resident of Thandwe.

The AA seized control of Thandwe Township after the ethnic armed group overtook the Maung Shwe Lay naval base, the last junta battalion in Thandwe, on August 30, despite a fierce junta defence that included air attacks and naval bombardment.

Civilian casualties have been rising as the regime has increasingly carried out airstrikes on residential areas and displacement camps in Thandwe Township.