Four Buddhist monks were killed in Sagaing Region’s Pale Township when an artillery shell struck their monastery on May 13, according to a local media outlet.
The abbot of Mya Thein Tan Monastery and three novices were killed by an artillery shell that landed on their monastery, according to a video released by Pale Entertainment on Monday.
“Five were injured by the artillery shell, and four died,” a Pale resident told The Irrawaddy.
“Local resistance fighters attacked junta soldiers in urban Pale. The regime responded by firing mortar shells. The abbot did not die immediately, he had his legs blown off before he died,” he added.
The artillery shell that landed on the monastery compound reportedly had 30-mm-high lettering on it. Local resistance groups said they do not have such mortar shells.
Villages in Sagaing Region have been attacked by regime troops since last year as the area is one of the country’s main anti-regime strongholds. Fighting between local resistance groups and junta soldiers is reported nearly every day. The regime has responded heavy handedly by raiding civilian areas as well as using artillery and airstrikes, causing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
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