Myanmar Monastery Attack: A Tragic Reminder of Ongoing Political Violence

A monastery in Myanmar’s Southern Shan State, On Saturday was attacked, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 people, including three monks. The incident has sparked conflicting accounts from local insurgent groups and the military-backed junta, with each side accusing the other of carrying out a massacre.

Myanmar has been engulfed in political turmoil and violence since the military coup in 2021, which toppled the democratically elected government and dashed the hopes of the country’s 55 million people for a functioning democracy. The coup was followed by a brutal military crackdown against pro-democracy protesters, resulting in civilians being shot in the street, abducted during nighttime raids, and allegedly tortured in detention.

The military junta’s violent crackdown has resulted in the deaths of at least 2,900 people in Myanmar, with over 17,500 arrests, the majority of whom are still in detention, according to the advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

The coup has also led to a surge in fighting between the military and resistance groups, who are allied with long-established ethnic militias in a country that has long been plagued by insurgencies. The military has been accused by resistance groups of carrying out mass killings, air strikes, and war crimes against civilians in the regions where fighting has erupted, charges that the junta repeatedly denies, despite mounting evidence.

Last week, another disturbing incident allegedly occurred in Shan State, which is located in the northeastern region of Myanmar and shares borders with Laos, Thailand, and China. According to reports, at least 22 people, including three Buddhist monks, were killed at the Nan Nein Monastery in Pinlaung Township. Local insurgent groups and the military-backed junta have been accusing each other of carrying out the massacre.

The incident was brought to light through photos and videos taken by the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), which were verified by CNN.

Images of Dead Bodies

The images showed the lifeless bodies of at least 21 people, dressed in civilian clothes and with multiple gunshot wounds.

Three other bodies, dressed in saffron orange robes traditionally worn by Buddhist monks, were also found at the scene. In the footage provided by the KNDF, visible bullet holes could be seen on the walls of the monastery. The incident has once again highlighted the ongoing political violence and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, which began when military leader Min Aung Hlaing seized power in a coup last year.

Since the coup, the military junta has been accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protesters, resulting in the death of at least 2,900 people and the arrest of over 17,500 individuals, according to advocacy group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

The coup has also led to a surge in fighting between the military and resistance groups allied with ethnic militias. These resistance groups have repeatedly accused the military of committing mass killings, air strikes, and war crimes against civilians in the conflict-ridden regions, allegations which the junta continues to deny despite mounting evidence.