Myanmar border monastery destroyed in air raid

A monastery in the Karen State village of Mekatha was turned to rubble in an attack by fighter jets on October 6.

Airstrikes by the Myanmar air forces on Thursday destroyed the monastery and several houses in a village near the border with Thailand. The attack on the village began at around 2.30am and lasted about half an hour.

At least one of the 50 monks staying at the monastery was injured, according to abbot Ven. Sirinna. He said…

“I never imagined that something like this would happen here. I would understand it if I were politically active, but I’ve just been focusing on my faith I’m just running a teaching monastery.”

According to a statement released by the Karen National Union (KNU), the air strikes were carried out by three fighter jets from the air force base in Hmawbi, Yangon Region.

The KNU has been at war with the central government since 1949. The political organisation that claims to represent the Karen people of Myanmar. It operates in mountainous eastern Myanmar along the Thai border.

Last Wednesday, the KNU took control of a hilltop base about 10km from Payathonzu, a town on the Thai-Myanmar border that is also known as the Three Pagodas Pass. Reportedly, 13 junta troops, including a deputy battalion commander, were killed in the assault on the base. The KNU has overrun several bases in the area recently, including some that have been controlled by the military for decades.

Residents continue to face aerial attacks launched by the regime in a bid to retake the bases.